lutz logo
lutz logo
  • Services
  • News & Insights
  • About
  • Client Portal
Search
  • Services
  • Accounting
  • Consulting
  • Financial
  • M&A
  • Talent
  • Tech
  • Accounting Services
Services
  • Audit & Assurance
  • Employee Benefit Plans
  • Client Advisory Services
  • Outsourced Accounting
  • Tax
  • State & Local Tax
View All
Industries
  • Agribusiness
  • Construction
  • Family Office
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing & Distribution
  • Nonprofit
View All
News & Insights
Website Featured Content Images-2
Blog
Are You Prepared? Financial Access Checklist for Spouses

Share this checklist with your spouse to assure you each have access to manage important financial tasks independently.

Read More
  • Consulting Services
Services
  • Business Valuation
  • Healthcare Consulting
  • Internal Control Assessment
  • Litigation Support & Forensic
  • Risk Assessment
View All
Resources
Website Featured Content Images (1)-1
Guide
What is a Comprehensive Risk Assessment?

To start managing your business's risk, you will need to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment.

Read More
Business Insights
Website Featured Content Images (2)-1
Blog
Top 3 Financial KPIs Every Business Owner Should Track

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can help illustrate your business’s financial health and show whether your business will turn a profit.

Read More
  • Financial Services
Services
  • Financial Planning
  • Investment Advisory
  • Retirement Plan Services
  • Pooled Employer 401(k) Plan
View All
Resources
  • Lutz Financial Blog
  • Our Team
  • Client Portal
  • Charles Schwab Login
  • Send Files Securely
Contact Us
NEWS & INSIGHTS
Website Featured Content Images
MARKET COMMENTARY
Financial Market Updates

Want to receive financial market updates straight to your inbox? Sign up below!

Subscribe
  • M&A Services
Services
  • Sell-Side Representation
  • Transaction Advisory
  • Exit Planning
View All
Resources
Website Featured Content Images (3)
Ebook
7 Factors to Consider Before Selling Your Business

We give you exclusive insights on the business sale transaction process to help you answer seven important questions.

Read More
Business Insights
Website Featured Content Images (5)
Blog
Key Items to Review During Financial Due Diligence
The due diligence phase is critical for a Buyer to better understand the Target’s business operations and the overall quality of the financial information.
Read More
  • Talent Services
Services
  • Search & Staffing
  • Outsourced HR
  • HR Strategy & Coaching
  • HR Consulting
View All
Candidate Resources
  • Job Seeker Process
  • Current Opportunities
  • Lutz Internships
Contact Us
News & Insights
Website Featured Content Images-3
Blog
5 Benefits of Using Gallup's CliftonStrengths in Your Company

Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment can help you identify the strengths of the people working in your teams.

Read More
  • Tech Services
Services
  • Data Analytics & Insights
  • Outsourced IT
  • Technology Strategy
  • Software Consulting
View All
Resources
Website Featured Content Images (1)-2
Guide
Introducing Data Analytics into Your Business

Integrating data analytics into your business can help your revenue grow, the organization mitigate risk, or gain insight into your business operations.

Read More
Business Insights
Website Featured Content Images (2)-2
Blog
17 Tech Tips & Tricks

We’ve listed 17 shortcuts and hacks that will help you use tech to your advantage and make your daily life a little easier.

Read More
Business Insights
BLOG
Explore Topics

Get the latest news and insights on relevant topics that matter most to you.

View All
Webinars & Events
Events
Register Today

Register for an upcoming event or access our library of on-demand recordings.

View All
Lutz Talk Business
PODCAST
Tune In

Subscribe today for entrepreneurially spirited episodes of witty commentary for young professionals.

View All
Resources
EBOOKS & GUIDES
Download Now

Take a deep dive into challenging business topics with these free educational resources. 

View All
  • News & Insights
  • Business Insights
  • Webinars & Events
  • Lutz Talk Business
  • Resources
Business Insights
BLOG
Explore Topics

Get the latest news and insights on relevant topics that matter most to you.

View All
  • About
About

Lutz is a business solutions firm for people seeking a partner to help energize and heighten economic and organizational success.

Our Company
Our Team
Offices
Careers
Internships
Contact Us
  • Contact
Client Portal

Log in to your relevant client portal to access your account, upload documents, or make a payment.

Make a Payment
Accounting Client Portal
Financial Client Portal
Charles Schwab Login
Send Files Securely
Contact Us
  • Investment Advisory

Socially Responsible and Environmentally Sustainable Portfolios

Jim Boulay, CPA/PFS, CFP®, CAP®, Investment Advisor, Managing Member
June 18, 2019
Socially Responsible and Environmentally Sustainable Portfolios

An increasing number of investors are looking for ways to align investment decisions with their own values and philosophies. As a citizen, you can express your political preferences around sustainability and other social issues through the ballot box. As an investor, you can express your preferences through participation in global capital markets. Socially Responsible Investing or “SRI,” is an investment strategy that allocates your dollars consistent with your beliefs and ideals.

SRI considers investors’ tastes and preferences about social issues in the design of an investment portfolio. There are a few different types of SRI investments, those that are environmentally conscious, those that are socially responsible and those that are may be consistent with religious beliefs. While some of these philosophies can be isolated, many are now combined into a general investment category called “ESG” investing. This combines social, environment and governance investing into one.

 

Who Practices SRI/ESG?

Several trends have driven SRI/ESG over the past decade. These include rising institutional and investor demand, legislative mandates for public funds, regulatory developments, the rise in environmentally themed offerings, increased shareholder advocacy, and the growth of community investing.

SRI/ESG is an investment approach available to anyone who wants to align their principles and beliefs with their financial future. If you seek a financial gain coupled with the opportunity to leave a positive mark on the environment or valued organizations, this strategy will suit your investing needs. With many financial institutions globally beginning to offer these services, it’s becoming a widely acceptable and even preferred way for investors to manage their money.

 

How Does Lutz Financial Offer SRI/ESG Services?

At Lutz Financial, we partner with Dimensional Fund Advisors to offer two types of portfolio styles to accommodate investor preference. The first are Social Core Equity portfolios, both domestically and internationally. These portfolios offer broadly diversified equity market portfolios that exclude companies that have a certain percentage of business in the following:

  • Abortion
  • Adult Entertainment
  • Alcohol
  • Child Labor
  • Contraceptives
  • Gambling
  • Stem Cell
  • Tobacco
  • Landmines
  • Companies with Businesses in Sudan

Even with the exclusions, these funds offer a broadly diversified portfolio amongst many different types and sizes of equities. As of June 2019, the US Social Core Equity 2 Portfolio (DFUEX) offered more than 2,300 domestic equities within its holdings. The DFA International Social Core Equity Portfolio (DSCLX) contained more than 4,500 globally diversified stocks within its portfolio. These social portfolios even extend into Emerging Markets via the DFA Emerging Markets Social Core Portfolio (DFESX). This fund contains more than 4,200 holdings as of June 2019. Lutz Financial combines these offerings to build clients’ global portfolios cost-effectively and diversified with more than 11,000 different companies.

Those investors looking for environmental impact investing are served using the DFA Sustainability portfolios. Lutz Financial’s use of the DFA sustainability strategies allows for systematic evaluation across industries on key issues, such as concerns of high greenhouse gas emissions or potential emissions from reserves of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas.  In addition, the portfolios consider other factors important to those investors seeking to invest in sustainable companies such as:

  • Land use
  • Biodiversity
  • Involvement in Toxic Spills or Releases
  • Operational Waste
  • Water Management
  • Factory Farming
  • Cluster Munitions
  • Child Labor

Lutz Financial does not regard SRI or ESG portfolios as separate asset classes, but as an alternative framework for investing in conventional asset classes.  With this framework in mind, our approach centers on structuring portfolios to capture dimensions of higher expected returns. This is done in a cost-efficient, diversified way, all while applying a meaningful screening methodology that reflects a broad set of investors’ social and/or environmental concerns.

In short, bringing a positive change the organizations important to you through investments is becoming an increasingly popular way for people to support their values without having to sacrifice diversification or adequate returns. If you would like to learn more about the SRI or ESG offerings through Lutz Financial, please contact us or learn more here.

 

Important Disclosure Information

Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results.  Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Lutz Financial), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful.  Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions.  Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Lutz Financial.  To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing.  Lutz Financial is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice.  A copy of Lutz Financial’s current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request.

  • Woo, Activator, Communication, Belief, Responsibility

Jim Boulay, CPA/PFS, CFP®, CAP®

Investment Advisor, Managing Member
Jim Boulay is an Investment Advisor and Managing Member at Lutz Financial. He began his career in 1989. Jim specializes in financial planning and investment advisory services for high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Regina and four sons.

402.827.2300

jboulay@lutzfinancial.com

Connect on LinkedIn

Recent News & Insights

Market Commentary
What Happened to the Recession of 2023? + Market Update + 9.19.23
The consensus view from economists entering 2023 was that the U.S. would likely be in a ...
Read More
M&A
Lutz adds Robert Powell to Omaha Office
Lutz, a Nebraska-based business solutions firm, recently added Robert Powell to its Omaha ...
Read More
Accounting
Lutz adds Kinney, Krause, and Wolf as Client Resource Assistants
Lutz, a Nebraska-based business solutions firm, recently added Samantha Kinney, Shelby Krause, ...
Read More
Accounting
Proposed CMS Lump Sum Payment to 340B Hospitals
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing a $9 billion lump sum ...
Read More
module-bg-desktop module-bg-mobile

Let’s get you where you want to go.

We work to simplify complexities, help make critical business decisions, and confidently focus on the things that are truly important to you. We embrace your business as our own to spark the right solutions and help you thrive.
Contact Us
Lutz-Logo-white
  • Services
    • Accounting
    • Consulting
    • Financial
    • M&A
    • Talent
    • Tech
  • About
    • Our Company
    • Our Team
    • Offices
    • Careers
    • Internships
    • Current Opportunities
  • Client Portal
    • Make a Payment
    • Accounting Client Portal
    • Financial Client Portal
    • Send Files Securely
    Submit RFP
TOLL-FREE: 866.577.0780 | © Lutz & company, PC 2023 | Privacy Policy
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook