1. Funding Sustainable Business & Projects
How Much Do You Know About Ethical Investing?
A Quiz With Answers!
Wall Street Journal
Matthew Kassel
July 6, 2017

2. With social, ethical and environmental issues prominent in the national dialogue, the investment strategy known as sustainable investing continues to grow.
Millennials are driving SI, AKA ethical investing, socially responsible investing, impact investing or high-road investing….investment strategies that take into account factors such as a company’s record on consumer protection, board diversity managerial practices, and future plans.

3. 1. The modern phenomenon of socially responsible investing in the U. S
1. The modern phenomenon of socially responsible investing in the U.S. can be traced back to which period in American history? A. The 1870s B. The 1930s C. The 1960s D. The 1990s

4. ANSWER: C. Although socially responsible investing has roots in the financial practices of 18th-century Quakers and Methodists, who opposed the slave trade, its modern iteration springs from the 1960s, when the civil-rights, antiwar and other movements opened up a whole new field of socially conscious investing.

5. 2. Fill in the blank: ESG is an abbreviation for ________________________. A. Environmental, sustainable and green B. Ethical, social and governance C. Ethical, sustainable and green D. Environmental, social and governance

6. ANSWER: D. ESG standards—or environmental, social and corporate governance standards—are the criteria by which socially conscious investors weigh a firm’s ethical bona fides.

7. 3. Last year, investors put how much money into ESG funds in the U. S
3. Last year, investors put how much money into ESG funds in the U.S.? A. $20 million B. $100 million C. $1 billion D. $3 billion

8. ANSWER: D. According to fund-research firm Morningstar Inc
ANSWER: D. According to fund-research firm Morningstar Inc., investors added nearly $3 billion to ESG funds in the U.S. last year. Over the next two to three decades, Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicts, millennials could drive about $15 trillion to $20 trillion into ESG funds in the U.S.

9. 4. At the start of 2016, the sustainable, responsible and impact investing category represented what percentage of all investment under professional management in the U.S.? A. 22% B. 10% C. 5% D. 0.1%

10. ANSWER: A. (22%) Sustainable investing had a market size of $8
ANSWER: A. (22%) Sustainable investing had a market size of $8.72 trillion in the U.S. at the beginning of 2016, representing about one-fifth of all investments under management, according to a biennial report published by the advocacy group
US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.

11. 5. From 2014 to 2016, sustainable investing grew by what percentage in the U.S.? A. 12% B. 20% C. 33% D. 55%

12. ANSWER: C. Sustainable investing grew 33% over a two-year period from 2014 to 2016 in the U.S., from $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014 to $8.72 trillion in 2016, according to the US SIF report.

13. 6. On a global level, what is the dollar amount of assets professionally managed under ESG strategies? A. $15.56 trillion B. $22.89 trillion C. $34.45 trillion D. $45.67 trillion

14. ANSWER: B. There are $22.89 trillion of assets under professional management in the ESG realm globally, according to a report by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, up 25% since 2014 and representing 26% of all assets under professional management around the world.

15. 7. True or false: There is no official governing body that regulates environmental, social and governance criteria. ANSWER: True. While there are a number of groups that track such criteria, like the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, a U.S. nonprofit, there is no government-established universal standard for sustainable investing.