NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Morningstar has begun to rate more than 20,000 mutual funds on their environmentally sustainable characteristics, and that should give a boost to sustainable investing in general say organizations that promote impact investing.

“Any additional disclosure about sustainable investing is good, and it is something investors want to know,” says Andrew Montes, director of digital strategies for As You Sow, an organization that promotes corporate responsibility for environmental issues and shareholder advocacy.

In March, Morningstar announced its new sustainability rating, which ranks mutual funds on environmental, social and governance factors.

“There are great things and challenging things about this movement,” says Mark A. Regier, vice president of stewardship investing for Everence, a faith-based financial services organization. Everence offers Praxis Mutual Funds, a series of funds that incorporate ESG factors into investments.