As a social purpose investment fund manager, we take a long-term view in our duty to act in the best interests of our investors. We have, from the inception of our funds, integrated environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in our investment decision-making process.
As an early adopter of Responsible Investing (RI), Encasa has long been a proponent of the idea that “good companies make good investments.” Our Funds aim to invest in companies which conduct themselves in a socially responsible manner, and whose business practices favour the environment, promote workers’ rights, and demonstrate strong governance. Responsible investment achieves financial results and provides investors with long-term value.
RI is a strategy that takes ESG factors into account during the selection and management of investments. For example, instead of choosing to include investments in a company that sells tobacco, the RI approach might opt to select a company that is working on clean energy or environmental initiatives instead.
The ultimate goal of RI is to help solve social and environmental problems through specific, targeted investing. However, RI demands that even companies doing good things need to demonstrate that they also have socially responsible business practices. Paying fair wages and committing to diversity and gender equality in the workplace are examples of the kind of positive attributes that we look for in a company.