LONDON, ONT. Southwestern Ontario based Libro Credit Union has announced all of their Mutual Fund investments going forward will adhere to what is being called Responsible Investing. “Responsible investing at its basic definition, is using Environmental, Social, and Governance factors or ESG in the investment selection process,” says Vice President of Wealth at Libro Paul McQueen. The move means investment managers at the credit union will steer away from companies that do not fit within that responsible framework regardless of the potential profit. McQueen says focusing on companies that are paying attention to the environmental, social and governance impacts should yield better returns over time.
A credit union in southwest Ontario is going all in on responsible investing (RI), a growing movement that argues companies with robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices in place outperform the broader market over the long term.
Come May, Libro Credit Union says its members looking to open a new mutual fund will only be able to choose from options offered by its partner, NEI Investments, a firm that has been tilling this field for three decades now.
“Like the broad market, we’ve seen in the last five years not just demand for this type of investment, but really an expectation from investors that the companies they invest in, the companies they choose to do business with, they can t just be for the shareholder anymore,” said Paul McQueen, Libro’s vice-president for wealth.