Colleen O'Connell-Campbell - ScotiaMcLeod Ottawa

There are a variety of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) products, strategies and screening approaches, but the one issue that inevitably arises when discussing SRI is the question of whether or not investing according to social and environmental values means a sacrifice in financial performance. Fortunately, the answer is clear: a recent study compared the annualized compound returns of four large Canadian SRI funds to the performance of the Toronto Stock Exchange over a 10 year period and found no significant difference. Similarly, screened SRI indexes in both the United States and Canada have consistently matched or outperformed their benchmarks.

 

Since there is no compelling decrease on return in choosing a socially responsible investment strategy, you might wish to explore the tangible and intangible benefits of knowing your investments are consistent with your personal philosophies. While it can be argued that the screening process used by many SRI funds has little influence on corporate practices, shareholder action can make a difference by framing social and environmental concerns in financial terms.

 

At ScotiaMcLeod, it is understood that wealth transcends money and represents the things in life that we would like to accomplish. As a Wealth Advisor, Colleen works closely with her clients to help them create a clear vision of what is important to them and then implement a financial strategy that is aligned with those goals. Please contact Colleen if you think it would be beneficial to meet and discuss how Socially Responsible Investing can be incorporated into your financial strategy.