Millennials Can Save The World While Saving For Retirement – Here’s How

If you are a millennial investor…you are likely to have some very different attitudes about investing than previous generations…[For example,] 67% of [all] millennials (and 67% of female millennials) say they want investments to reflect their social and environmental values. [Such “impact” investing is more than just a feel good gesture—it drives real business…that means is your choice to invest for a better world can have a real, tangible impact. Today, [for example,] clean energy is responsible for more jobs than the fossil fuel industry.

The comments above & below are edited ([ ]) and abridged (…) excerpts from an article written by Anne Ackerley (BlackRockBlog.com)

…[While] our latest survey found that 72% of millennials feel on track with their retirement savings…maybe you’ll find extra inspiration by including a sustainable investing strategy that invests based on social or environmental criteria in your workplace retirement account (401(k)).

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Make an impact on your future now

This approach is not new; endowments and pension funds have used similar strategies for decades. What is new is that sustainable strategies are becoming much less expensive and more widely available than ever before.

There are many variations:

• Some screen out industries that conflict with social or environmental objectives.
• Others may evaluate potential investments based on their Environmental Social Governance (or ESG) profiles, creating a scoring system to guide the investment manager to the most values-positive companies.
• Others target positive social and environmental outcomes through pure impact investing strategies

and that [all] creates an exciting opportunity.

By investing in a sustainable strategy through your retirement plan, you can do some good right now that will hopefully pay off later. If you are 30 years old today, that means your retirement dollars can be put to use for decades to build the kind of world you want to live in. That alone should get you energized about saving for retirement, no matter how far away it seems.

A little something extra

Ideally, sustainable investing should be your inspiration to make an additional retirement contribution above and beyond the money you are already saving in an appropriately diversified investment. Doing good should inspire you to do more for yourself…

Conclusion

For those of you who are already engaged in retirement planning and savings, the sense of purpose from making a sustainable investment can be transformative. Combining your passion for social and environmental causes with the need to build for your future could give new energy to your retirement planning…[regardless of your] age.

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