What is Socially Responsible Investing?

Paul Rentmeester and Justus Hedeen, financial advisers from RH Group/Merrill Lynch of Green Bay, will focus on Socially Responsible Investing at the April meeting of the Climate Change Coalition on April 2 at 7 pm.

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has at least three strategies. Among them are divesting, screening based on social criteria, and impact investing. Divesting is the act of removing investments from a portfolio based on ethical, non-financial objections to certain business activities of a corporation. Social screens are instructions to one’s financial adviser to exclude certain securities from investment consideration based on social and/or environmental criteria. In impact investing, an investor will actively seek to place capital in businesses and funds that combine financial and social returns.

Rentmeester and Hedeen will explain what differentiates the SRI approach from traditional investing. They will describe the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impacts on corporate value, and seek to dispel several common myths about SRI. Moving to impact investing, they will detail the global water crisis, explaining why water is an investment theme with staying power, and discuss some innovative companies working on a range of solutions.

The meeting will take place at Bjِrklunden, located on Boynton Lane, south of Baileys Harbor. The public is invited to attend.