Palo Alto, CA-based Sand Hill Global Advisors has rolled out a socially responsible investment strategy portfolio integrating environmental, social and governance criteria into the investment analysis and decision-making process.

Palo Alto, CA-based Sand Hill Global Advisors has rolled out a socially responsible investment portfolio integrating environmental, social and governance criteria into the investment analysis and decision-making process.

According to the World Wealth Report 2014 - released last week by RBC Wealth Management and Capgemini - making a positive impact on society through investments of time, money or expertise is extremely or very important to 60 per cent of high net worth individuals. The notion that a blend of ESG factors can significantly influence investment performance is certainly not a new idea; in a 2010 study by Accenture and the United Nations Global Compact, 93 per cent of some 770 corporate chief executives said sustainability would be “critical” to the future success of their firms, despite the economic downturn.

Sand Hill Global Advisors said the stocks and bonds in its new portfolio are “evaluated in much the same way they might in traditional investing, but with an additional ESG lens added to the analysis that looks to favor companies meeting the specific SRI criteria.”

Specifically, the portfolio consists of exchange-traded funds and mutual funds managed by qualified SRI investment managers.

“We've applied the same rigorous manager due diligence process used for our traditional portfolios to identify those SRI managers who are best equipped to be successful investing in the SRI space - both from an investment and a philosophical perspective,” said Katherine Fischer, portfolio manager.

“Investment advisors bear a great responsibility to maximize their clients' return on investment for the risk they assume. Within that context, we want to honor the growing interest that specific clients have in using broader criteria than pure performance to measure the composition of their portfolios,” Fischer added.

Firms in the wealth management space have been ramping up their efforts in this area. Last week, for example, BMO Global Asset Management became a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative - a network of international investors collaborating to enforce six principles for responsible investment.