Is an invesstment in sustainability funds worthwile?

Sustainability funds offer the investor the possibility of making a contribution for sustainability support in connection with its investment. The aim to reach a higher net yield in the comparison to the capital market by means of sustainability funds, may not be the central argument of such an investment. It is rather a question of the ideology to make a contribution to the protection of the environment and society with an investment in Sustainability fund. Whereby it is not meant that the investor must pay for sustainability, but that he is recompenced with an appropriate net yield corrisponding to market.

Do the sustainability goals agree with the financial goals?

The findings over the sustainability are not yet so far embodied that they flow at full extent into the share quotations. However, enterprises which use the chances given in the environment and the society and avoid the corresponding risks, should be able to reach a better position in relation to the competitors, which should lead to higher profits and rising share quotations. This basically logical consequence must be still proven for the fund industry. However the enterprises, whose title is taken up in a sustainable investment trust, regularly examined concerning the fulfilment of the demanded criteria. Th is prevents shares from companies with scandalous way of management to be contained in the fund, which should minimize unexpected share quotation falls through getting public of scandals.

A statistically supported statement about the influence of the sustainability efforts of the individual funds on its net yield is not yet possible due to the only short existence of these asset products. A comparison of the already longer existing Sustainability indices (ex. Dow Jones Sustainability index, DJSI) with the underlying “unsustainable” basis indices however shows a positive picture, the sustainable derivative of these indices having a tendentious higher, but at least equal net yield.

From this the statement can be derived that, if the sustainability has an influence on the net yield then a positive. An investment in Sustainability funds has thus only positive characteristics, because even if the net yield ‘only‘ equals the market at least ideologically an additional value was reached.