“We did that because we understand everyone has different values. So, what's important to one person is not necessarily going to be important to someone else.
“When we start to assess a specific company, we initially go through its annual and sustainability reports and work through the areas within our framework. For example, one area we look at is emissions; does the company disclose its emissions? Do they have science-based targets in place to reduce them and are the emissions reducing in volume over time?
“For each of the three ESG pillars we give a score out of five to best represent where we believe the company is at on its sustainability journey.
“Our sustainability framework provides a way to integrate ESG into your investments beyond screening certain sectors out. It is an additional tool that clients can use.
“So, while we have the investment recommendations from our financial analysts, you can then overlay the sustainability framework to make sure it aligns with your values. One way clients have integrated this into their portfolios is by only investing in companies that have an overall score of more than four out of five.”
Gisborne-based Trust Tairawhiti is one client taking the ESG journey.
“The trust is working with the Craigs Investment Partners' sustainability team to review the trust's managed funds and direct holdings, to ensure they represent best practice against environmental, social and governance investing criteria,” Trust Tairawhiti chief executive Gavin Murphy said.
“As an example, we have already divested from direct positions in fossil fuels and have been continually progressing to a more sustainable approach.”
Ms Stevens said Craigs had received a lot of positive feedback from clients.
“Clients have been pleased to see the time and resource being dedicated into this space. We see it is an important area that we need to understand so we can engage meaningfully with companies, then take the outputs into our client conversations when discussing ESG considerations.”
Some clients already had investment policies stating they did not want to invest in certain areas that didn't align with their values.
“We are seeing growing numbers of clients asking about this. Some people may think it's a passing trend, but it's here to stay — and it needs to stay.
“While climate change represents one part of sustainable investing, the risks associated with it and other non-financial risks need to be taken into consideration when investing in companies.
“The traditional way of investing is moving on to a more forward-thinking approach. I think it's great to see how clients can apply their values anywhere, from their supermarket purchases and now to their investment choices as well.”
Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and does not constitute regulated financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, objectives, goals or risk tolerance. All investments involve risk and can go down as well as up. The Craigs Investment Partners Ltd Financial Advice Provider Disclosure Statement can be viewed at
