Financial advisors at Bank of the West’s BancWest Investment Services will now have access to portfolio generation tools from OpenInvest that will help them tailor clients’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing preferences, the asset manager announced Tuesday.
With OpenInvest’s customization, BancWest advisors will be able to craft portfolios that address the pertinent issues for particular clients; additionally, clients will be able to access quarterly “impact statements” that will detail how their ESG investments have produced tangible impacts; the information will be available for clients with their financial returns, according to OpenInvest.
According to co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Joshua Levin, the move would enable BancWest advisors to balance the benefits of customization with the burgeoning desire among clients for taking ESG priorities into account.
“Mass customization is the future of wealth management,” Levin said. “We’re excited to provide services to BancWest Investment Services and empower their advisors with the tools they need to provide factor portfolios and customized values-based portfolios with ease.”
Using OpenInvest, clients will have access to data and receive portfolios that offer divestment from fossil fuel producers, investment in companies that support refugees, a focus in companies that value increasing the number of corporate women leaders, and others, according to the company. WealthManagement.com recently interviewed Claire Veuthey, OpenInvest’s director of ESG and Impact, who detailed what advisors need to understand about ESG rating systems and how they can initiate discussions about ESG investing with clients. ESG investing is increasingly a central focus of conversation among investors and clients alike, while interest has grown in recent years, and investments in ESG equity ETFs have climbed 63% between the end of 2017 and May of this year.
