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Responsible investing

Learn about our approach and our responsible investment (RI) product lineup.

Our responsible investment products

Doing our part to build a responsible, sustainable economy is part of our values. We've been fine-tuning our responsible investment products for 30+ years to provide you with choices that stay true to who you are. Here's our range of diversified RI options designed to help you achieve your goals.

SocieTerra Funds and Portfolios

You can grow your money with responsible investment funds that combine good return potential with a positive impact on the environment and communities.

  • 21 funds and 6 portfolios
  • Multiple RI strategies used to select companies and encourage them to improve their ESG practices
  • Eligible under most plans (such as RRSP, TFSA, RRIF, LIRA, LIF, RLSP and group RRSP) and non-registered accounts
  • Risk profile: Low to moderate
Learn more about SocieTerra Funds and Portfolios.

Market-linked guaranteed investments – responsible options

Tap into stock market growth potential without risking your money by monitoring the performance of businesses that have been carefully selected for their ESG commitment.

  • 2 portfolios and 2 thematic investments
  • Eligible under most plans (TFSA, RRSP, FTA, LIRA, locked-in RRSP, RRIF, LIF and RDSP) and non-registered accounts
  • The money you invest is 100% guaranteed at maturity
  • Risk profile: Low
Learn more about market-linked guaranteed investments – responsible options.

Guaranteed investment funds – RI Helios2 Contract

You can grow your savings with responsible investment funds, but with additional protection.

  • 6 SocieTerra Portfolios
  • Multiple RI strategies used to select companies and encourage them to improve their ESG practices
  • Eligible under most plans (RRSP, TFSA, RRIF, LIRA and LIF) and non-registered accounts
  • Choice of 3 guarantees to protect your savings or your estate
Learn more about guaranteed investment fund portfolios under the RI Helios2 Contract.

Responsible annuities

Get a responsible annuity and receive a regular income for a set period or until death.

  • Responsible investment approach in managing premiums that we're entrusted with
  • Annuity can be combined with a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) or a life income fund (LIF)
  • Fixed return for the duration of the payment period
  • Index option where retirement income can be adjusted annually
Learn more about responsible annuities.

What is responsible investing?

Responsible investing means taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into account when selecting and managing investments, in addition to traditional financial analysis. By doing this, we choose companies that contribute to sustainable development.

4 reasons to choose responsible investment

Return potentials that are just as good

In the long run, the potential returns of responsible investments are just as good and sometimes better 1 than traditional investments. You can invest without compromising on returns while staying true to your values.

Better risk management

Companies that value ESG criteria are better equipped to manage risk, which potentially increases returns. 2

Carefully selected companies

We assess the ESG practices and financial health of each company. SocieTerra products exclude companies that specialize in fossil fuels as well as those who operate in the arms 3 , nuclear energy and tobacco industries. 2

Shareholder engagement

We engage in an ongoing dialogue with the companies we select to ensure they are upholding their commitment. We also encourage them to improve their ESG practices. We vote at shareholder assemblies and submit shareholder proposals when appropriate. 4

ESG criteria

We use the following environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria to evaluate which companies to invest in:

Environ­mental

We choose companies with policies and practices that respect the environment.

These include policies that:

  • Fight against climate change
  • Protect forests and biodiversity
  • Reduce greenhouse gases

Social

We choose companies that are involved in their communities and treat all their workers fairly.

These include companies that:

  • Respect and protect the rights of children
  • Respect the rights of workers
  • Provide healthcare, food security and education

Governance

We select companies that have healthy management practices.

These practices might include:

  • Diversity on boards of directors
  • Fair compensation for management (incentives and bonuses)

Products that create a real, positive impact

By choosing one of our RI products for your investments, the companies we select can have positive impacts on the community and environment.

For example, based on an estimated investment of $10 million in 2022 5 , companies that Desjardins SocieTerra Positive Change Fund invested in contributed to:

Avoiding 1,742 tonnes of CO2 emissions, or the equivalent of the CO2 emissions produced by 421 cars in one year 6

Providing access to education and/or training to 7,225 registered learners 5

Providing access to financial services to at least 3,225 people 5

Contact us

By phone

We can also call you when it's convenient.

Further reading

Whelan, Tensie et al. “ ESG and Financial Performance: Uncovering the Relationship by Aggregating Evidence from 1,000 Plus Studies Published between 2015-2020 External link.." NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business and Rockefeller Asset Management, 2021. See the Responsible Investment Policy for more information. Automatic or semi-automatic firearms intended for civilian use. Does not apply to market-linked guaranteed investments – responsible options. Source: Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited. The contributions are based on the annual impact of the assets held in the Desjardins SocieTerra Positive Change Fund portfolio on December 31, 2021. For those holdings that have been in the portfolio for less than the full year, no attempt has been made to pro-rate the contribution. However, as we have a time horizon and aim to invest in our holdings for five to ten years or longer, portfolio turnover will be low. Headline Impact Data, while providing an indication of the impact of the portfolio, are vulnerable to inconsistencies. This may be due to underlying assumptions. How companies measure and report is not always uniform and, in some cases, requires conversion to allow for aggregation across the portfolio. Where information is not available, we do not include a company's contribution within the Headline Impact Data snapshot. Learn more about calculating the CO2 emissions of a car with annual kilometrage of 20,000 km External link.