Aflac Employees: Investing for Impact

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Aflac employees looking to align their investment portfolios with their values should consider ESG & Impact Investing. When such strategies become commonplace, they may be a way to marry personal convictions with financial goals. Consult with a financial advisor such as myself, Patrick Ray at The Retirement Group, to ensure these choices reflect your ethical standards and financial objectives.

Aflac employees looking for socially responsible investment options need to understand SRI, ESG and Impact Investing, 'said Navarro. These support ethical, environmental and social causes and also yield competitive returns. 'I, Michael Corgiat of The Retirement Group, would recommend talking with a financial advisor about creating an investment strategy that fits your needs and goals for your money.'

In this article we will discuss:

The Rise of Responsible Investment Strategies: Exploring how Socially Responsible Investing / Impact Investing and ESG / Environmental, Social & Governance Investing have become mainstream choices for Aflac investors. SRI, ESG and Impact Investing Comparative Analysis. Outlining similarities and differences among these strategies so investors can make an educated decision.

Strategic Investment Decisions: Important points discussed include how to align investment decisions with personal and ethical values and the role of financial advice in these decisions.

Many of the Aflac are building a portfolio that reflects their socially responsible values but provides good yields. And that is where SRI Investing, Impact Investing and ESG Investing can help.

Some former Aflac investors found the strategies too restrictive. Eventually though, better evaluative data and competitive returns made such strategies commonplace. SRI, ESG Investing and Impact investing have many similarities but differ in some fundamental ways. Read more.

ESG Investing - Environmental, Social & Governance Investing.

ESG investing means environmental, social and governance Investing. This model scores investments against certain standards like ethical business practice, environmental conservation and local community impact. ESG investing has become popular: more than 500 ESG mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) exist in the US alone. A decade ago there were just 100 ESG funds.

SRI = Socially Responsible Investing.

SRI uses criteria from ESG investing to actively eliminate or select investments according to ethical guidelines. SRI investors can apply negative or positive screens when choosing how to build their portfolio based on ESG factors. For example, Aflac investors might invest some of their portfolio in companies that support charities. In the US alone, more than USD 17 trillion is invested using SRI strategies. This is up from USD 12 trillion invested in SRIs as of December 2017.

Impact Investing

Impact investing is also called thematic investing. Impact investing seeks to secure a positive outcome independent of profit. For example, an impact investor may use ESG criteria to find and invest in a company working on a cancer cure regardless of the investment result.

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The biggest takeaway? You can keep your investments in line with your personal beliefs by making choices. Whatever way you structure your investments, remember to consult with a financial professional before making a major change.

Sources:

1. Zhou, Michelle. 'ESG, SRI, and Impact Investing: What's the Difference?'  Investopedia , 13 Jan. 2025,  www.investopedia.com/esg-sri-and-impact-investing-5204786 .

2. 'The Key Differences between SRI, ESG, and Impact Investing.'  PitchBook ,  www.pitchbook.com/news/articles/the-key-differences-between-sri-esg-and-impact-investing .

3. Kelley, Matt. 'ESG Investments – Part One: An Introduction to and History of ESG Investing.'  ESL Federal Credit Union ,  www.esl.org/esg-investments-part-one-an-introduction-to-and-history-of-esg-investing .

4. 'SRI vs. ESG vs. Impact Investing: What's the Difference?'  Fidelity Investments Canada ,  www.fidelity.ca/sri-vs-esg-vs-impact-investing-whats-the-difference .

5. 'Understanding ESG, SRI, and Impact Investing.'  Financial Planning Association ,  www.financialplanningassociation.org/understanding-esg-sri-and-impact-investing .