Easy as Pie Portfolio

Investing comes with risk. This article is a general discussion of the merits and risks associated with these ETFs, not a specific recommendation. Speak to an investment professional and make sure your portfolio is diversified. Tim does not own shares of any funds mentioned in this article.

Divesting from fossil fuels just got a lot easier. In March 2019, Desjardins launched the Desjardins RI Global Multifactor Fossil Fuel Reserves Free ETF (DRFG).

This portfolio is the absolute simplest I could make it. It is 100% RRSP and TFSA eligible, and the annual management fee is 0.48% and a weighted-average carbon intensity of 52.5 tons of CO2 per million dollars in revenue.

Asset Class Weight Name and Website
Global Equity 60% Desjardins RI Global Multifactor Fossil Fuel Reserves Free ETF (DRFG)
Government Bonds 40% iShares 1-10 Year Laddered Government Bond Index ETF (CLG)

 

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Squeaky Clean Portfolio

Investing comes with risk. This article is a general discussion of the merits and risks associated with these ETFs, not a specific recommendation. Speak to an investment professional and make sure your portfolio is diversified. Tim Nash owns shares in ETHI, SDG, ZGB, and owns a Sketch community bond.


The Squeaky Clean Portfolio is simple, with no fossil fuels, mining, tobacco, or weapons. It is very diversified, yet places a strong bet on the emergence of a low-carbon economy. The total annual cost of this portfolio is 0.36% and the weighted-average carbon intensity is 42.1 tons of CO2 per million dollars in revenue.

Squeaky Clean Portfolio Pie Chart

Asset Class Weight Name and Website
Global Equity 40% Horizons Global Sustainability Leaders ETF (ETHI)
Impact Equity 20% iShares MSCI Global Impact ETF (SDG)
Government Bonds 30% BMO Government Bond Index ETF (ZGB)
Impact Bonds 10% Sketch Community Bond

 

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Organic Couch Potato Portfolio

Investing comes with risk. This article is a general discussion of the merits and risks associated with these ETFs, not a specific recommendation. Speak to an investment professional and make sure your portfolio is diversified. Tim Nash owns shares of PZD and a Solar Bond in his personal portfolio. Tim does not own shares of the other ETFs mentioned in this article.

This portfolio is a simple version of a typical Canadian Couch Potato portfolio, but uses funds that incorporate a strong sustainability lens.  The portfolio is very diversified, yet places a strong bet on the emergence of a low-carbon economy.  The total annual cost of this portfolio is 0.24%. The weighted average carbon intensity of this portfolio is 55.31 tons of CO2 per million dollars in revenue.

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Asset Class

Weight

Name and website
Canadian Equity 15% iShares ESG Advanced MSCI Canada Index ETF
US Equity 15% iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA Index ETF
Int'l Equity (developed) 10% iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE Index ETF
Int'l Equity (emerging) 5% iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EM ETF
Green Equity 15% Invesco Cleantech™ ETF
Canadian Bonds 30% BMO Government Bond Index ETF
Solar Bonds 10% SolarShare Community Bonds

 

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Vanguard Cheap AF ESG Portfolio

Investing comes with risk. This article is a general discussion of the merits and risks associated with these ETFs, not a specific recommendation. Speak to an investment professional and make sure your portfolio is diversified. Tim Nash does not own any shares of the ETFs mentioned in this article.

I’ve long admired Vanguard’s unique ownership structure and their mission to keep fees low for investors. Imagine my excitement when they launched their new ETFs with a socially responsible mandate. I even got to write about their pros and cons for MoneySense! This portfolio is by no means perfectly sustainable, but it is hyper diversified and very cheap with a total Management Expense Ratio (MER) of just 0.19%.

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Asset Class

Allocation

ETF Name

Ticker

MER

Currency

US Equity

30%

Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF

ESGV

0.12

USD

Int'l Equity

30%

Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF

VSGX

0.15

USD

Gov’t Bonds

40%

Vanguard Canadian Government Bond Index ETF

VGV

0.28

CAD

Curiously, Vanguard’s Canadian Government Bond ETF (VGV) is not the cheapest Canadian government bond ETF on the market so investors can lower their total MER to 0.15% by swapping it out for less expensive options from BMO (ZGB) and iShares (CLG).

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Fossil Fuel Free Portfolio

Investing comes with risk. This article is a general discussion of the merits and risks associated with these ETFs, not a specific recommendation. Speak to an investment professional and make sure your portfolio is diversified. Tim Nash owns shares of CGR, XHC, CWW, XCD, XLK, EVX, PZD, QCLN, and IXP in his personal portfolio. Tim does not own shares of the other ETFs mentioned in this article.

The equity portion of this portfolio consists of global sector funds, and excludes the following sectors: Energy, Materials, Utilities, and Infrastructure.  It is as diversified as possible, yet contains no extractive companies, major carbon emitters, or pipelines.  The total annual cost of this portfolio is about 0.43%.

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Real Estate                         2.5%    iShares Global Real Estate Index ETF (CGR)

Healthcare                          5%      S&P Global Healthcare Index Fund (XHC)

Industrials                           5.5%      S&P Global Industrials Index Fund (XGI) 

Water                                   5%      S&P Global Water Index Fund (CWW)

Consumer Discretionary      5%      S&P Global Consumer Discretionary Index Fund (XCD)

Consumer Staples               4.5%      iShares Global Consumer Staples Fund (KXI)

Technology                          7.5%      Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK)

Cleantech                            4%      PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio (PZD)

Green Energy                      4%     NASDAQ CleanEdge Green Energy Index Fund (QCLN)

Environmental Services       4.5%     Market Vectors Environmental Services ETF (EVX)

Financials                           10%      iShares Global Financials Fund (IXG)

Telecommunications          2.5%      iShares Global Telecom Fund (IXP)

Canadian Gov’t bonds      30%     iShares DEX All Government Bond Index Fund (XGB)

Community Bonds            10%     CoPower Green Bonds

 

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Need Help?

Want to manage your own money but need help getting started? The Sustainable Economist has created a new company that offers investment coaching services for do-it-yourself sustainable investors.

Check out the website: https://www.goodinvesting.com/

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