Evergreen Consultants has launched a responsible investment (RI) questionnaire that advisers can use to help clients understand their beliefs and select RI products.
Designed to help investors identify funds which align with their values, it built on the firm’s RI grading index which was launched last year and scored over 670 investment products.
Profiles were built for each clients and then lists of products were created to match their preference which the adviser could use to build a portfolio. Questions raised included ESG integration, negative screening, norms-based screening, active ownership, positive screening, sustainability themed investment and impact investing.
Evergreen Consultants founder and director, Angela Ashton, said: “With ASIC clamping down on greenwashing and ongoing FASEA requirements, advisers are under more pressure than ever before to have these important conversations with their clients, and we are right there on the journey with them.
“We are hearing a lot in the marketplace that the demands of providing RI advice can be overwhelming. We are in a position to help bridge the gap in RI advice and we are absolutely going to step up and fill that gap.”
The questionnaire also helped advisers meet their best interest duty under Standard 5 and 6 of the FASEA code which required advisers to ask clients about their investment beliefs.
