The acronym ESG first appears in 2004 in a report that was issued by the United Nations Global Compact. It suggests how finance industry could better apply environmental, social and governance goals to things like asset management and investing. There were only a few funds that did it; they tended to be kind of boutique funds. The concept was the market as a whole hasn't really recognized this.
Republican presidential candidates have a bone to pick with ESG investments. So does James Surowiecki, contributing writer at The Atlantic.
This episode was produced by Jon Ehrens, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael with help from Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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