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We're living in a time of global economic upheaval, with small businesses dead or on life support and medium and larger businesses trying to decide what and where to additionally cut, after taking earlier cost-cutting measures. Some decisions made by businesses have aroused public ire. Others, plaudits. People are increasingly aware of companies that make decisions that take into consideration their employees, their communities, and the environment.

Even before COVID-19, a growing number of investors had some exposure to environmental, social, governance factors impacting investments in their portfolios — both individual and institutional investors. Now that the pandemic has increased focus on the "how" of doing business, will that lead to an increased awareness of ESG investing, impact investing, and socially responsible investing?

No one can say for sure how the pandemic will affect anything in the long term. But it's safe to say that investment decision-making that takes into account how a company behaves in additional areas besides shareholder profitmaking is here to stay. And this particular field of investing is growing.