(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Socially responsible investing has increasingly begun to influence how asset managers invest portfolios. It not only involves practices that are aimed at avoiding harm by screening companies that are a part of an investment portfolio, but also includes more proactive approaches such as impact investing, community investing and shareholder advocacy.
Merrill Lynch has announced that it has added sustainable impact multi-asset class portfolios to its expanding platform of impact portfolios. The decision is aimed at satisfying a growing need of its clients to employ their investment capital for positive social and environmental impact. Merrill Lynch will also equip its 14,000 financial advisors with new resources to help clients understand the impact to their investments in these portfolios.
The sustainable impact multi-asset class portfolios available through Merrill Lynch One have been constructed by Merrill Lynch’s Investment Management and Guidance (IMG) team. The portfolios will aim at delivering a competitive return along with a positive ESG profile relative to a traditional, non-ESG focused benchmark. The portfolios will include MFs as well as ETFs.
Andy Sieg, head of Global Wealth and Retirement Solutions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said that clients have been showing a growing inclination that their portfolios should reflect their values and help improve the world. The firm has made impact investing a strategic priority and will offer innovative solutions that can help its clients promote positive social change, according to Sieg.
Innovation to meet demand in the impact investing segment is a key area of focus for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The company offered its first social impact bond in 2013, which was syndicated to high net worth investors to finance employment services for formerly incarcerated individuals in New York. A few months later, Bank of America offered green bonds to Merrill Lynch clients in partnership with the World Bank. The company also became a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing in 2014.
Source: Market Watch
Image Credit: Flickr via Caston Corporate
This post was originally published on Justmeans.com
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