Each year the U.S. Sustainable Investment Forum (US SIF) tracks the assets that are invested according to Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) guidelines. In 2016, more than $1 in every $5 invested by professional investment managers in the United States was directed according to SRI criteria. The link below will take you to an executive summary of the comprehensive report which includes numerous statistical data that is likely to surprise many – including most financial advisors.

US SIF 2016 ExecutiveSummary

The US SIF is the only SRI focused organization that investment firms and financial advisors can belong to, and Cascade Financial Strategies is the only member in Bend. We have found that the nationwide forum provides valuable dialogue where ideas and news related to SRI can be shared in a useful and timely manner. We’ve also taken advantage of training and investment evaluation resources that the organization provides for its members. Why are we still the only member in all of Central Oregon? One reason is that most financial advisors are unaware of the growth in the SRI arena and that the fallacy of inferior investment returns has been disproved over and over again in recent years.

Here are a few highlights taken directly from the US SIF report: 

“US sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing continues to expand. The total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies grew from $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014 to $8.72 trillion at the start of 2016, an increase of 33 percent . . . ”

“The assets engaged in sustainable, responsible and impact investing practices at the start of 2016 represent nearly 22 percent of the $40.3 trillion in total assets under management. From 1995, when the US SIF Foundation first measured the size of the US sustainable and responsible investing market, to 2016, the SRI universe has increased nearly 14-fold, a compound annual growth rate of 13.25 percent.”

The Impact goes beyond share ownership as individuals, institutions, investment companies, money managers and financial institutions increasingly influence the companies they invest in through shareholder resolutions – helping move these companies toward making positive changes.

According to the report . . .

“Through a survey and research undertaken in 2016, the US SIF Foundation identified that $2.56 trillion in US-domiciled assets at the beginning of 2016 held by 225 institutional investors or money managers filed or co-filed shareholder resolutions on ESG issues at publicly traded companies from 2014 through 2016.”

Other Statistics showing impressive growth:

“$8.10 trillion in US-domiciled assets at the beginning of 2016 held by 477 institutional investors, 300 money managers and 1,043 community investment institutions applied various environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in their investment analysis and portfolio selection. . . ”

“The US SIF Foundation identified 300 money managers and 1,043 community investing institutions that incorporate ESG issues into their investment decision making. The dollar value of their combined ESG assets is 1.7 times the corresponding figure for 2014, when money managers and community investing institutions held $4.8 trillion in ESG assets under management.”

Below is a link to the full report. 

       http://www.ussif.org/trends

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