In everyday spending, people often feel strongly about where they shop, the products they buy, and where their money is going. When making investments, however, those causes aren’t always so obvious.
In recent years, investors have shown a greater interest in following their investment dollars and making sure the companies involved are aligned with their values. From religious beliefs to social concerns, values range widely, and so do options for pairing investments with the causes you care about.
Value Investing Tips
You might have heard of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, or socially responsible investing (SRI). Impact investing is another common term.
All of these investment strategies fall under the same umbrella of value investing, but are evaluated differently. ESG investments, for example, are often evaluated based on a specific set of metrics disclosed by companies. Regardless of how companies are scored or screened, you can find a way for your dollars to make a difference — and Trust Point can be your guide.
Making these decisions might seem complex, but with a few considerations and a little help, you can get started and be on your way to earning returns that make you feel good for more than monetary reasons.
1. Identify Values and Goals
The first step is simple — think about your values and the causes you want to support. What do you and your family care about most? How do you want to make an impact? Are you already making charitable gifts? If so, how can your investments align with those efforts? Take some time to consider your options.
2. Meet with Your Financial Team
Once you’ve decided you’d like to pursue value-aligned investing, reach out to a Trust Point professional. We’ll help you research and develop solutions to meet your goals. We have the tools, resources, and expertise to aggregate data, screen companies, and monitor trends.
3. Evaluate Your Returns & Portfolio
As you start incorporating value-aligned investments, a financial professional will work with you to regularly evaluate your financial performance and portfolio, so you can revise your strategy if needed. Your values may evolve as time goes on — and so can the practices and policies of the companies you’re invested in. It’s important to stay informed on emerging issues and be open to exploring new opportunities.
Value Investing for Non-Profits
In recent years, we’ve seen a significant increase in non-profits interested in tailoring their investments. This makes sense, as these organizations exist to achieve a specific mission and conflicting investments can create both real and perceived challenges.
Trust Point has the experience, expertise, and tools to help non-profits assess their portfolios to accomplish their goals. We can find and eliminate investments that conflict with an organization’s
larger mission while adding investments that can actually grow the non-profit’s impact. In that way, investing is actually another avenue for a non-profit to carry out its work.
Just as with individuals interested in aligning their investments with their values, our team makes it easy for non-profit organizations to do the same. Trust Point can provide peace of mind that your organization’s investments are aimed at achieving the same goals as the hard work you do each day.