The Sustainable Investor: Responsible, Impactful, and Values-Driven Investing Strategies and Practices for Financial Professionals - Hardcover

by Peter Krull (Author)

Build sustainable, responsible portfolios that reflect the values of your retail clients

In The Sustainable Investor: Responsible, Impactful, and Values-Driven Investing Strategies and Practices for Financial Professionals, the Founder and Director of Sustainable Investing at Earth Equity Advisors, Peter Krull, delivers a timely and insightful discussion of sustainable investing and responsible portfolio construction. In the book, you'll learn how to help your retail clients build solutions-based, sustainable, responsible, and impact-driven portfolios that actually reflect their values. You'll also learn how to avoid the greenwashed, "less-bad" investments so commonly found in the products and portfolios of major Wall Street firms seeking to use ESG primarily as a growth vehicle.

The book also offers:

• A history of the Socially Responsible Investing movement, including its descendants: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing and Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact (SRI) Investing
• Why labels like ESG and SRI matter, what they mean, and how they're different
• An explanation of how major Wall Street firms hijacked the ESG investing philosophy and turned it into a vehicle for asset accumulation

A perfect resource for financial advisors, planners, and other finance professionals, The Sustainable Investor is the ideal roadmap to values-driven investing strategies that meets the needs of retail investors who seek to make a positive difference in the world with their money.

Front Jacket

ESG investing is not the same as sustainable investing, yet investment professionals and the general public often equate the two. Understanding this difference will be an advantage to advisors working with a new generation of investors demanding values-based investing.

In The Sustainable Investor: Responsible, Impactful, and Values-Driven Investing Strategies for Financial Professionals, renowned green business leader and Director of Sustainable Investing at Earth Equity Advisors, Peter Krull, delivers a timely and insightful discussion of how to build a sustainable portfolio that your clients actually want and that truly reflects their values.

The book chronicles the history of Socially Responsible Investing, as well as its contemporary cousins, Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing and Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact investing. It explains the key differences between each of them and makes a compelling case that what retail investors actually want are solutions-based portfolios, comprised of companies leading a cleaner, more resource-efficient, more resilient, and more equitable economy. The Sustainable Investor also lays out a plan for financial advisors who want to help their retail clients implement a portfolio that aligns their investments with their values.

Krull explains how the major Wall Street investment firms hijacked the concept of ethical investing and used it as a vehicle for growth and asset accumulation. He also explains how you can avoid the greenwashed and "less-bad" portfolios of the large firms in favor of sustainable portfolios that deliver financial and social results. His experience of living through Hurricane Helene in Asheville, NC helps explain how he is redefining SRI for a climate-changed world: Sustainable, Resilient, and Innovation investing.

Perfect for financial advisors with clients who care about making a positive difference in the world and those looking to prepare themselves to help next generation investors, The Sustainable Investor is sure to become the gold standard for all financial professionals seeking to better navigate the complex and nuanced world of ESG and SRI investing.

Back Jacket

Praise for THE SUSTAINABLE INVESTOR

"At a time when some of the world has begun to question the importance of environmental friendly, sustainable and corporate responsibility, Peter Krull delivers the antidote to this wrong-headed view. Peter explains in clear terms the why and how to invest in a manner that not only enriches your portfolio but also enriches the world at large."
--RON INSANA, CNBC Contributor

"Peter's financial expertise, engaging storytelling and data-driven case studies succeed in bringing sustainable investing to the forefront. This book is a timely read for financial advisors and retail investors interested in understanding and addressing financially material risks and unlocking investment opportunities in our rapidly changing world."
--MARIA LETTINI, Chief Executive Officer, US Sustainable Investment Forum

"In a world drowning in greenwashed funds and 'less bad' ESG nonsense, Peter Krull cuts through the noise with refreshing clarity and zero patience for Wall Street's sustainability charade. Drawing from twenty years in the trenches, he delivers what financial advisors desperately need: practical, no-BS strategies for building truly sustainable portfolios that actually align with client values. Ignore this book at your peril--unless you're fine watching trillions in assets walk out the door to advisors who get it."
--GARVIN JABUSCH, Chief Investment Officer at Green Alpha Advisors

"This is the book that the fossil fuel industry does not want you to read. It dispels the myths about investing with your values and provides you with the information and resources you need to invest in an environmentally responsible way."
--LESLIE SAMUELRICH, President of Green Century Funds

"A well-researched book on sustainable, resilient, and innovative investing that is structured for a broad audience and well suited for both professional and novice investors. For those interested in a deeper dive into sustainable investing, this book serves as a solid foundation, offering both clarity and depth on the subject."
--MATTHEW PATSKY, CEO and Portfolio Manager, Trillium Asset Management

"The Sustainable Investor is a timely and essential guide for financial professionals navigating the evolving landscape of sustainable investing. Through insightful storytelling--shaped in part by his firsthand experience of Hurricane Helene's devastation--Peter provides advisors with the tools and narratives needed to engage clients in meaningful conversations about impact. This book is a must-read for those looking to align their investments with a deeper purpose."
--JENNIFER N. COOMBS, Head of Content and Development, US Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment

Author Biography

PETER KRULL is a Partner and Director of Sustainable Investing at Earth Equity Advisors, a Prime Capital Financial Company. He is the InvestmentNews 2024 ESG/Responsible Investing Advisor of the Year, and the host of Dollars & Change: The Expert's Guide to Sustainable and Responsible Investing podcast.

Peter is a regular speaker at industry conferences as an expert on sustainable investing, including Future Proof and the US SIF Forum. He is a contributor to Kiplinger and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Barron's, Bloomberg, Investor's Business Daily, and many others. He has appeared on Reuters TV, Cheddar TV and the Schwab Network. In addition, he has been regularly featured in numerous podcasts and magazines.

A native of Western New York, Peter lives in Asheville, NC, with his wife, Dr. Melissa Booth, a scientist, science communicator, and novelist. They drive electric vehicles and live in a solar and battery-powered house.