ESG Investments

At Hightower Bethesda, we believe in passive equity management. Though there will always be active managers that outperform the “market” in a given year or time period, the ability for most equity managers to consistently outperform for long periods of time is extremely rare. We also believe in utilizing low cost ETF’s, which provide our clients tax efficient exposure and intra-day liquidity.

As the financial industry has evolved, so have the needs of our clients. In response to these changing-needs, we have developed a portfolio that models our Core Equity portfolio, but does so with an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) focused mandate. The goal of this portfolio is to achieve a more sustainable outcome in society while pursuing your financial goals. The ESG portfolio is consistent with our Core Equity beliefs and matches the same underlying exposure whenever possible.

We selected the MSCI ESG review process as the building block for the appropriate ESG standards and guidance for investment. We use ETF's which allow us to invest in the MSCI ESG underlying investment methodology.

The ESG investment market is rapidly changing and evolving as demand and interest increases. We believe demand and creation of ESG products will only increase. As such, we continue to review and evaluate options for ESG exposure. Many ESG investment products are new and as they obtain longer track records might met our criteria for adoption in portfolios.

ESG incorporates the analysis of a company’s financial, environmental, social and governance practices as a means of determining the company’s ability to manage risk and produce strong, long-term investment performance. The MSCI ESG Ratings identify and invests based off the following 3 pillars and 10 investment themes for evaluation criteria: