Brett Watson of Brett Watson Wealth Management Group is an accredited Portfolio Manager & Wealth Advisor and an active member of the Responsible Investors Association of Canada (RIA).

 

Align your financial goals with your personal values

RBC Wealth Management supports the merits of responsible investing. RBC is committed to community involvement, diversity and inclusion, and environmental responsibility to help the world become a better place—for both current and future generations. To help make good on our commitment to have a positive social and environment impact, we have pathways for you to invest capital in a more responsible manner. Responsible investing assets have skyrocketed to $12 trillion as of 2018, a 38% increase in two years, according to the US SIF Foundation. This is projected to grow exponentially.

Socially responsible investing

Socially responsible investing is also known as values-based or ethical investing. Investors are looking to make a positive change by aligning their personal values with their investment choices. This involves both negative and positive screening of companies, industries or sectors to make a financial influence that match their values.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing

ESG investors are seeking companies with leading environmental, social and governance metrics compared to their peers. These metrics may include:
Environmental concerns — Including climate change, natural resources conservation, pollution and waste management, and water scarcity.
Social issues — Such as corporate philanthropy, community and government relations, workplace health and safety, human rights and diversity.
Governance topics — Including accounting practices, board accountability and structure, disclosure practices, executive compensation, corporate ethics, regulatory compliance and transparency.

Impact Investing

Impact investing is not charity. It is an investment where an investor is hoping first and foremost to generate social or environmental impact. An impact investor also wants to earn a return on their investment. However, they may be willing to take a capital loss as long as some tangible result for the investment can be seen. In that way, it is essential to be able to measure the impact of this investment. An example includes investment in low-income housing loan assistance, where a tangible impact is measurable (i.e., number of households able to afford housing) and the investor is likely to get his or her money back.

RBC Vision Funds

RBC offers a number of socially responsible investment funds called RBC Vision Funds.

RBC Vision Funds are designed to meet the needs of investors who:

  • Believe that social responsibility should be a primary consideration in making investment decisions.
  • Want to invest in companies with attractive ESG practices.
  • Want to invest all, or a portion of, their portfolio in a socially responsible investment solution.
  • Want to benefit from the investment expertise of RBC Global Asset Management, one of Canada's leading investment managers.