Insurance, Investments and Group Benefits

Amina and Sanjay are a young Canadian couple looking forward to buying their first home. They both have satisfying jobs and are financially savvy. Through Amina’s grandfather they were introduced to an advisor who told them about the First Home Savings Account (FHSA), and they think it’s a good way to save for a home. 

An index fund is an investment fund that aims to provide returns similar to those of market benchmark. This is generally done by investing in the same securities (or a representative sample) as the target benchmark. ­

Although it can be tempting to put your investment goals aside to chase these returns, beware of FOMO, which can introduce an unreasonable level of risk in your portfolio. 

Understanding the differences and similarities 

Markets move in different directions at different times, generally called cycles. Different market cycles tend to favour one investment style over another. Understanding how growth and value investment styles differ and where they can work together will help demonstrate how they can both play an integral role in your equity portfolio construction.

Highlights:

• Strong sustainable investing interest in the current environment
• Record fund flows into Canadian sustainable investment funds
• Wide interest/usage gap and demographic factors allude to potential for greater fund flows
• Discussion and education will be important drivers going forward

From an evidence point of view, the proliferation of sustainable investment strategies and strong fund flows into these products are easily researched through publicly available resources. Underlying these trends, however, is a more durable structural shift.

Myth #3: Sustainable investing is a fad

Myth #2: All sustainable investing approaches are essentially the same

It is vital in understanding the different approaches related to sustainable investing. While standards and definitions continually evolve, there are generally six approaches to sustainable investing. Depending on an investor’s motivation in considering sustainable investing, some approaches may be more relevant than others. 

Sustainable investing has experienced increased interest over the past few years, with a sharp acceleration in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other high profile social issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. There are, however, some common myths and misconceptions among investors that may be new to modern sustainable investing approaches. This educational resource attempts to provide insight and clarification into what we believe are the most misunderstood issues.

Myth #1: Sustainable investing is the same as ethical investing

From the Desk of Ashley Misquitta and David Mann: In this recent article, the portfolio managers discuss the evolution of sustainable investing and its growing popularity among investors. Ashley and David  also share how they incorporate ESG factors into their investment process.