A: Research shows that investing with environmental, social and governance guidelines does not cause reduced investment returns and actually might enhance it over the long term. Like all mutual funds, much of the performance comes down to the skill of the managers and the securities that they pick.

A. On average, 10% to 13% of the typical holdings of a mutual fund are screened out of Meritas Mutual Funds due to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Although this may not seem like a large number, it is reassuring to many investors that they are not investing in those companies that do not line up with their values and concerns in these areas. At the same time, investors can feel comfortable that their investments are well diversified and represent companies with whom they are familiar and which are an important part of the overall economy.

A. Even though oil companies have a direct impact on the environment, we still invest in energy and resource sectors. For these industries in particular, we take a Best of Sector approach. This means that we will only invest in the companies that are minimizing their environmental footprint while also encouraging and investing in more responsible ways to do their business. We also prefer energy companies that are developing sustainable energy alternatives. We take this approach so that we can still offer a diversified investment portfolio but we use our shareholder engagement activities to influence these energy and mining companies to improve their social and environmental performance.