Conventional Money Management Can Cause Brain Damage!
Ever feel like your investments aren't keeping up? Wall Street as well as your neighborhood financial advisor would like you to think they can deliver superior returns with market timing strategies and astute stock picking ability. However, history consistently demonstrates it's nearly impossible to outsmart the collective wisdom of millions of investors with these "active" strategies. According to a recent S&P Indices Vs. Active Research Scorecard, 83.66% of U.S. equity managers failed to beat their 5 year benchmarks, and 86.06% failed over 10 years.
Index Funds mirror the market's return without the high cost and chronic underperformance most funds exhibit.
Aspen Leaf Partners Uses Index Funds To Design
Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Portfolios
1.1%
Expected annual outperformance from corporations that focus on environmental, social, and governance criteria*.
$483,790
Dollar amount associated with an extra 1.1% return on a $500,000 starting balance after 20 years**.
$2.4 Trillion
Cost associated with the failure to invest in a low carbon future according to the London School of Economics***.
* Can ESG Add Alpha? Nagy, Kassam, Lee, June, 2015.
** 8% return on the hypothetical SRI portfolio & a 6.9% return on the conventional portfolio. Assumes monthly compound returns.
*** 'Climate Value at Risk' of Global Financial Assets, Dietz, Bowen, Dixon, Gradwell, April, 2016.
"Sustainable investing is less complicated than you think, better performing than you believe, and more important than we can imagine"
- Chris McKnett, head of State Street Global Advisors' Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investing*.
* Chris McKnett and State Street Global Advisors are not affiliated with Aspen Leaf Partners. We believe in leaders like Chris who are helping promote the idea of modern day sustainable investing. We hope you enjoy his Ted Talk.
SRI Performance Is Impressive! Over The Past 25 Years, The MSCI KLD 400 Social Index Has Outperformed The S&P 500
4/30/90 - 9/30/16
10.14%
KLD 400 Social Index
8.98%
S&P 500 Index
Source: Morningstar, MSCI KLD 400 Social Index GR (USD), S&P 500 Index TR (USD). Investors cannot buy an index directly. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
International SRI strategies have also proved advantageous for conscious investors.
Research shows that passive SRI indices have outperformed actively managed managed SRI strategies (and they cost less too).
Aspen Leaf Partners Considers Important
Criteria In Client Portfolios
ENVIRONMENTAL
Carbon & Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Toxic Chemical Usage & Disposal
Renewable Energy
Ecosystem Change
Resource Depletion
Climate Change
Pollution
Environmental Reporting
SOCIAL
Diversity
Equal Opportunities
Customer Satisfaction
Indigenous Rights
Equitable Labor Standards
Product Safety & Liability
Human Rights
Employee Productivity
Community Relations
GOVERNANCE
Board Leadership Independence
CEO Compensation
Separate Board And Committees
Corporate Accounting
Protection Of Minority Shareholders
Domicle (Free & Democratic Socities)
Financial Reporting And Disclosure
Shareholder Rights
Controlled Company IPOs
Our core stock index fund is designed to reduce future projected carbon emissions* by 97%
71 stocks in the S&P 500 are fossil fuel extractors or fossil fuel utilities**. We can help you reduce or even Divest From Fossil Fuels.
* Source: MSCI, as of May 2015. Criteria include direct & indirect emissions as well as fossil fuel reserves, compared to the MSCI ACWI (a broadly diversified index of global stocks).
** Fossilfreefunds.org, February, 2016.
Ask Us About Our Green Return Portfolios
And How We Can Customize Them For You
Keep More Of Your Return By Lowering Investment Costs
0.28%
Green Return Average Weighted Fund Expense*
1.05%
Average Socially Responsible Fund Expense**
If an investor saved 0.77% in investment cost
each year they'd have an extra***
$88,192 After 10 Years
$407,065 After 20 Years
$1,409,841 After 30 Years
Five Portfolio Models
* As of January, 2016. Subject to change based on which indices are included in the portfolio models. Does not include the expense of the advisory fee Aspen Leaf Partners charges. An advisory fee is separate and distinct from fund expenses. Advisory fees vary depending on household assets under management.
** Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, Mutual Fund Chart. Data as of July 31st, 2015. Top 20 largest funds used in average expense calculation.
*** Based on a $500,000 starting portfolio value, 8% rate of return on the average SRI fund, and an 8.77% rate of return on the average fund expenses within the Green Return portfolio series. Returns are compounded monthly. The rates of return are hypothetical in nature, and do not reflect actual portfolio returns of the Green Return portfolio series. Rates of return are merely used to illustrate the erroding effect of expenses on various long term return scenarios.