Due to a recent spate of environmental events, Kerry has started to have more serious thoughts about how she can make a difference. Although this is an area she is still learning about, she has read that there may be the opportunity to ‘let her investments do the talking’ when it comes to impacting the behaviour of businesses in this space. A friend of Kerry’s saw a webinar hosted by Treysta on this very subject and suggest she organise a meeting with one of their advisers.
She starts with the following questions:
- I’d like to make sure my investment activity reflects my values, I’m opposed to fossil fuels and hate the idea that I invest in businesses that make money from this.
- I’ve looked at my current super investments and frankly it’s really hard to see what companies or areas I’m invested in. How do I make decisions in this situation?
- I’ve heard that it’s possible to exclude things like fossil fuel exposure, but what about including specific themes I’m interested in.
- How do I know that an investment product is reflecting my wishes, I’ve heard that some products with an Environmental label might not be what I expected?
- While I want to invest with a social conscience, I’m also a realist and still want a level of focus on investment performance. Can the two co-exist?
Post her meeting Kerry comes away armed with knowledge and food for thought, she is encouraged by what she heard and decides to proceed. Why did she make that decision;
- She became confident that it was possible to create synergy between her personal values and her investment activity.
- It became obvious to Kerry that when it comes to ethical investing it was imperative to understand exactly what you own in your portfolio, some investment services simply cannot facilitate this, Treysta could offer that transparency.
- Kerry understood that exclusions can be important but was pleased to hear that she could include exposure to specific themes like renewable energy.
- Importantly Kerry asked good questions which revealed that the team at Treysta had a specific expertise in the area. They had done their homework and were eager to deliver this kind of investment service with efficacy.
- Kerry was pleased to note that investment returns don’t need to suffer when it comes to ethical investing, in fact there is evidence to suggest that investing in this area can be a positive for investment returns.
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