Ethical investing has suddenly been thrust into the mainstream.

From what was originally a niche, marginal area of investing, it has now become the investment theme du jour.

There are several reasons for this. The issue of climate change has become much more obvious with many more extreme weather events happening globally, but noticeably in North America and western Europe.

There are also campaigners such as Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion who are capturing the headlines and making people in general wake up to the realities of climate change.

And there is pressure from regulators around the world for investment houses to take sustainability seriously.

But whether it is simply due to external pressure or an internal drive, many institutions are realising that regardless of lack of action from government, they want to invest in companies that are going to be around in the long term.

Now that climate change seems to be a real thing, fund managers are looking for firms that have a sustainable plan for the long term.

There are many ways of defining ethical investing, either negative screening, positive screening, or companies that have a positive impact.

But however an investor wants to define it, returns are much more positive than they used to be, and ethical investing has become an element to look for the long term.

This guide is worth an indicative 60 minutes of CPD