With October being Financial Planning Month, we wanted to provide some helpful information for when Advisors meet with their clients to advise them on how to better manage their finances and investments. Here are four basic tips that you can share with your clients as they work towards their goals of being more financially stable in the present and can help solidify their financial futures.

Topics: Financial Advisors, Financial Advising, Financial Technology, Client Relationships, Long Term Planning, ESG, saving money, Financial Planning Month

Fortune's 500 is the list of the largest companies in the United States by revenue and is a great barometer to figure out which US based companies are the most successful. If you were to take a look list for 2021 you will notice something that has been trending this way for the past several years, the largest amount of women that lead these companies. There are more companies lead by women CEOs on this list than ever before and it is showing the progress and strives women have made over the last several decades. While there is still work to be done in this area, we want to celebrate these women in order to encourage and inspire others to reach great heights. 

Topics: Social Media, Entrepreneurial Spirit, ESG, Women Entrepreneurs, women's history month, women in finance, women, finance, International Women's Day

Vanderbilt’s 295 solar panels show our commitment to sustainability.

Summary:

• Companies who practice greenwashing can make both deliberate claims and unintentionally misrepresent their sustainability efforts.
• As a Financial Advisor, you can help your clients avoid these bogus claims with resources outlined at the end of the article.

Many businesses promote their credentials with the promises of having green buildings, eco-labels, and clean technologies. But how many of these pledges are authentic? How many of them are just empty corporate spins? We called these inauthentic claims “greenwashing” in our past article “Will "Impact-Washing" Be the New Greenwashing?”

Topics: Greenwashing, Impact-Washing, ESG, Green Finance

 

Topics: Impact Investing, ESG

 

 

In September 2015, news of Volkswagen's prolonged dishonesty regarding the U.S Clean Air Act and air pollution tests wiped out close to $17.6 billion in their market value — making the stock of the largest automaker in the world plunge 23% according to Bloomberg. This emission scandal highlighted the need and importance of environmental, social, and governance criteria (ESG) in evaluating the risk factor of potential investments in companies. More than ever, investors are looking beyond financial returns and want the companies they invest in to be responsible for their environmental impact, the conditions of labor, and other behaviors that have a profound effect on the planet and people. ESG data provides a way to hold companies accountable for their actions beyond the PR campaigns and potential “ greenwashing” their marketing departments put out there. But how is ESG data collected, analyzed, and reported?

Topics: Impact Investing, ESG