“ESG,” which stands for environmental, social, and governance) was first coined in 2005, but the concept goes back much further.
“The dual mandate of doing good while also doing well was first articulated by 17th century Quakers in England,” says Haleh Moddasser, CPA, Senior Vice President and lead advisor at Stearns Financial Group. “As an investment concept, the first iteration of the dual mandate was SRI (socially responsible investing) where entire asset classes were excluded from portfolios, resulting in lower returns.”