As humans, we tend to shy away from things we do not know much about. Imagine explaining Dali's paintings or non-fungible assets (NFTs) to someone, please, no! We often do not question things, either because some things have just been done a certain a way or because they are beyond our knowledge. Unfortunately, we have similar views on our pension investments and saving accounts.

Many of us work in corporations that have a pension plan arranged for us. They do this by giving investment platforms our money, where fund managers invest on our behalf in a diversified portfolio with stocks like Apple, Disney or Nike, expecting to make a reasonable return and beat the market. There's also investment you can make yourself through investment platforms like Robinhood or E-TRADE and individual savings account (ISA) which has similar concept but without you paying the income tax on the investment benefits you have up to a certain level. It's simple, right?

But what if you do not want to give your money to companies that are linked to gender inequality or animal cruelty? What if they do not align with your values? What can you do as a single consumer to make an impact? With ESG investing you can get your fund managers to think about the environmental and social footprint of companies. This can be from a financial performance perspective - it is less susceptible to risks, including reputation, legal and compliance risk and more profitable to invest in a company that is say, diversity across the board or taking care of the oceans. Of course, you can personally change your lifestyle, but our pension investments have a far greater impact as they operate on a macro level. In May, WEC hosted an event where I sat down with Georgia Stewart, the CEO and co-founder of Tumelo, to learn more on this.

Let's zoom out for a bit. 2020 has proven the stability of companies complying with environmental, social and governance metric. Morningstar reported 51 of the 57 that ESG-screened indexes outperformed their market equivalents in the first quarter of 2020. We have become more aware of social issues that fall under ESG purview and find them to be safer investments. If a company finds itself amidst a scandal, we know that could appear on the news and damage the share price. Even fund managers understand that now and invest in ESG-screened stocks and indexes to guarantee a safe return for their clients.

Here are my advice how to create and implement an effective compliance program:

So where do you begin? It is a good practice to consider investment platforms that show you transparent and accessible information on every company you wish to own. Do your research and find ESG funds and indexes that you feel strongly supportive of and share it with your fund manager. Same goes for workplace pension but this time, ask your HR about your company's pension plans and what it is invested in. Most companies will have an ESG fund options aside from the regular pension fund plan. Ask them to shuffle your investments and move it towards sustainable investing. You may think to yourself - why have I not always done this? Well now you can.

Impact-focused solution Tumelo offers pension holders and retail investors a platform to see all of the companies they are invested in and share their opinions on how they wish these companies to act. Their goal is to make you more aware of where you put your money and bring more transparency to the discussion. More importantly, we must know this is not just passive investment; we should have an influence on the outcomes of these companies. With all our opinions put together as investors and/or pension holders, our fund managers can collect this information via Tumelo, helping to inform their own voting decisions at the board level and their wider stewardship policies.

When it comes to Tumelo, their platform partners with your existing investment and pension applications that you use. You give your opinions on decisions being made at companies so that they had better align with your values - such as better supply chain due diligence or LGBTQ+ policies. This opinion is then shared with fund managers who can have a large influence on companies.

Next time you have a conversation with your pension provider, do this:

• Learn whether the companies you invest in instils strong ESG practices into their operations.
• Find out if the company must report their socially responsible activities to regulators or stock exchanges.
• Follow C-Suite executives on social platforms like LinkedIn and see whether they are truly passionate about ESG.
• Read up on their Annual Report. Some companies produce ESG reporting too. You can analyse their past performance and the future goals they have set.
• Look at their governance structure and identify red flags if there are any, i.e., unexplainable reward system, poor strategy implementation, low retention rates, nepotism, lack of diversity, etc.
• Familiarize yourself with the industries you have or would want to invest it and assess if the changes you propose are achievable by companies

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What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

Don't be afraid to ask questions or be curious.

If you had to choose an alternative career, what would you be doing now?

Own a jewelry store. I enjoy designing and love gold accessories.

At the end of your career, if you were to sit and reflect, what one hope do you have?

That through my work, I made the world better even if just a little.