The financial market is increasingly aware of the social responsibility of companies, especially those listed on the Stock Exchange. Therefore, interest in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has increased among investors around the world, as shown by different surveys.

According to information from the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investments, 26% of professionally managed funds in the United States in 2019 referred to SRI funds. In figures, the percentage corresponds to US$ 12 trillion of the total of US$ 46,6 trillion that were transacted in that year.

In 2021, participation should be even greater. In an interview with CNBC in July, Credit Suisse CEO Thomas Gottstein said that the Covid-19 pandemic has increased interest in this type of investment. In Brazil, the modality has been maturing and is open to expansion.

SRI funds are those that consider not only the possibility of good returns for investors, but also the attitude of the companies that make up their portfolio in terms of environmental, social and governance – ESG. The bet is that sustainable and socially responsible organizations also add value to shareholders and are better prepared to face economic fluctuations.

Read also

• Petrobras president reaffirms that integrity is an absolutely non-negotiable value in the oil company
• Video: MV X-Press Pearl vessel begins to sink as Sri Lanka braces for possible spill of oil and other heavy chemicals off its coast
• Video: Ship full of chemicals sinks in Sri Lanka, leaving 5.600 fishing boats out of work
• Huge explosion on container ship MV X-Press Pearl injures two people; crew of 25 people consisted of Chinese, Indians, Filipinos and Russians
• Odebrecht may return later this year to participate in Petrobras tenders

Preference for investments by younger people

Younger investors, in their 20s and 30s, are most interested in SRI, according to a report by Morgan Stanley's Institute for Sustainable Investing. The growth of this interest occurs in parallel with the expansion of Index Funds, the ETFs, from the English Exchange Traded Funds. It is the youngest who have observed how much the combination of the two concepts can be profitable.

ETFs are a type of variable income investment whose yield is linked to an index. It is a kind of basket of assets, which confers the advantage of diversifying the investor's portfolio. To participate in the fund, which has professional management, it is necessary to acquire the quota. The initial contribution can be quite affordable, which gives another advantage to the modality.

ESG ETF Options in Brazil

In the case of socially responsible ETFs, the assets that make up the fund are from companies that meet the criteria ESG. In Brazil, there are already some investment options available to investors such as ECOO11, GOVE11 and ISUS 11.

The ECOO11 is linked to the Carbon Efficient Index (ICO2), which is joined by companies that maintain transparency about greenhouse gas emissions and plan for a low-carbon economy.

GOVE11 follows the Corporate Governance Trade Index (IGCT B3), aimed at companies that meet the criteria of the methodology developed by B3 on corporate governance.

The ISUS11 is related to the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE), a performance indicator for the quotation of assets of companies recognized for their commitment to sustainability.