HIGHLAND Sustainable Impact Portfolio
We believe investing responsibly does not have to come at the expense of sacrificing long-term investment returns or compromising core investment principles. In this effort, we have developed the HIGHLAND Sustainable Impact Portfolios that are founded on our core investment philosophy while addressing the environmental, social, and governance issues important to investors looking to align their personal values with their investing dollars.
The strategies comprising HIGHLAND's Sustainable Impact Portfolios integrate environmental, social, and governance research with fundamental analysis to help deliver strong performance alongside social value.
When investing for impact, it is critical to monitor and quantify the impact of your investment portfolio. In addition to the traditional performance reporting, you will receive a tailored “Impact Report” quarterly to quantify the impact of your investment capital.
Our Approach
ESG Fixed Income
The ESG fixed income strategy is designed to offer broad exposure to the government and investment grade corporate bond markets in a manner that integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research with fundamental fixed income analysis to help deliver strong performance alongside social value.
These investments provide direct exposure to socially beneficial issuers and/or individual projects in the areas of affordable housing, community and economic development, renewable energy and climate change, and natural resources. The impact investments go beyond integration of general ESG criteria to incorporate factors such as issuer mission and the objective of the project.
ESG Core Equity
The core sustainable equity strategy addresses the dual priorities of sustainable development by emphasizing investment in companies acting in more environmentally sound ways than their industry peers. The strategy may also penalize companies that use particularly intensive factory farming methods, companies identified as manufacturers of cluster munitions and mines that indiscriminately affect humans and the productive use of land, companies cited for child labor practices, and those linked to the production of tobacco.
The strategy applies a sustainability scoring system within each industry to promote investment in companies with higher sustainability scores and minimize or exclude investment in companies with lower scores. The environmental sustainability considerations include greenhouse gas emissions intensity, land use and biodiversity, toxic spills and releases, operational waste, and water management.
ESG Impact Allocation
The Impact Allocation builds upon the exclusionary screens and ESG integration approaches used in the core sustainable equity strategy by investing in a smaller subset of companies that have demonstrated a commitment to ESG issues. By investing in a select group of companies, this allows for more material and transparent reporting as well as more active engagement with companies to influence positive environmental, social, and governance practices.
The strategy emphasizes companies that are committed to progressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The UN SDGs are “a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.”
For example, an investment approach used in the impact equity strategy takes a thematic approach focusing on gender equality in the workplace. The impact of this strategy can be measured transparently in terms of female leadership within the companies invested and gender diversity on corporate boards.
To Learn More about the History of Responsible Investing and HIGHLAND’s Sustainable Impact Portfolio be sure to Download Our Free White Paper, “Responsible Investing: Aligning Personal Values with Investing Dollars”
Please provide us with your Name and Email to receive a Free Digital Copy of our White Paper on Sustainable and Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing.