Investors and advisers are more interested than ever in putting their money to work to better the planet and the people living here. While there's lots of talk about "making sure your money aligns with your values," there's very little talk about how to actually to do so. Where does one find the data on environmental impact, carbon emissions, social justice, diversity, community impact, biodiversity protection (or harm) and all the other critical ESG metrics when making an investing decision? What does that data look like? How should one weigh those metrics against basic financials? In short, how does one actually go about ESG investing?
Investors and advisers are more interested than ever in putting their money to work to better the planet and the people living here. While there's lots of talk about "making sure your money aligns with your values," there's very little talk about how to actually to do so. Where does one find the data on environmental impact, carbon emissions, social justice, diversity, community impact, biodiversity protection (or harm) and all the other critical ESG metrics when making an investing decision? What does that data look like? How should one weigh those metrics against basic financials? In short, how does one actually go about ESG investing?
Related Article: SEC chief takes to Twitter to issue warning on greenwashing
Related Article: Industry plea to SEC: Too early for Scope 3 disclosures
Guest Bios
Max Mintz is a partner and financial planner at Common Interests, a holistic financial advisory firm specializing in sustainable, responsible and impactiInvesting. Common Interests is a Certified B Corp®, a designation the firm pursued to demonstrate verified commitment to social and environmental responsibility, and track their progress over time. In 2019, Max was honored as a 40 under 40 advisor by InvestmentNews, which he ascribes to the firm’s commitment democratizing access to both financial services and impact investing.
You can learn more about Max and his firm on their website: www.commoninterests.com
Jina Penn-Tracy is passionate about leaving this world a better place. Jina believes that comprehensive planning allows individuals, businesses, and nonprofits to make more ethically aligned and influential decisions regarding the spending and investing of their money.
A cancer diagnosis at age 19 led Jina to years of consumer activism around issues of chemical contamination in our environment and especially the food system. After co-founding a rapidly growing import company in the 1990s, Jina shifted careers in 2004 to become the type of financial advisor she wished she could find; an advisor focused on utilizing the power and influence of money to make positive changes in the world.
In 2019, early life trauma led her to found the nonprofit Children’s Theatre Alumni Survivors Fund (CTA Wellness). Jina is the president of the Board of CTA Wellness. Since 2014, Jina has volunteered with the Carbon Divestment Coalition in Minnesota, committed to seeing the Minnesota state pension funds divested from the top 200 carbon-holding companies.