Investor Education
The Periodic Table of Investments
Periodic Table of Investments
The investment universe is vast, but it’s also made up of many smaller moving pieces.
For serious investors, the foundation of the discipline is to understand the properties of these individual components, and to have them work in harmony to achieve a specific portfolio goal.
To do this successfully, one must understand the breadth of asset classes, tactics, and categories of investments that exist – and to know how they relate to one another.
The Chemicals Between Us
Today’s infographic comes from Phil Huber, the Chief Investment Officer for Huber Financial Advisors, who has cleverly depicted this relationship graphically in his blog.
Similar to how the physical universe is made up of chemical elements, he sees the possibilities around portfolio management as drawing from a broad pool of investing “elements”. Combine these different elements together, and you get compounds, structures, and eventually entire funds.
The periodic table of investments created by his team denotes each type of investment, the primary and secondary strategy related to it, and a color classification:
Here are the seven objectives that the top letters on each box refer to:
And finally, here are the colors that each block on the periodic table correspond to:
As you can see, considerable thought has been put into the categories and classifications. However, as Phil notes, this is simply the opinion of one person and it is not intended to be a universally accurate depiction of all portfolio management wisdom that exists:
I fully expect that there are a handful of omissions, or perhaps a few areas where one might flat-out disagree with how I’ve laid things out. This was not meant to be 100% exhaustive, nor was it meant to be indicative of what one of our portfolios looks like.
Phil Huber, Chief Investment Officer
For more of the lessons that can be derived from this clever periodic table of investments, we suggest checking out the original post on Huber’s blog.
Is there anything that he missed, or that you think could be classified better?
Investor Education
Which Climate Metrics Suit Your Investment Goals Best?
When selecting climate metrics, it is important to consider your purpose, the applicability and acceptability of the climate strategy, and the availability of historical data.

Which Climate Metrics Suit Your Investment Goals Best?
According to PwC, 44% of investors believe that companies should prioritize reducing greenhouse gas emissions across their own operations and supply chain.
In this graphic from our sponsor, MSCI, we break down climate metrics and provide valuable insights to help build sustainability-aligned portfolios without the fear of falling for greenwashing.
Essential Climate Metrics for Investors
Here are some widely-used climate metrics, as categorized by MSCI:
Climate Metric | Description | |
---|---|---|
#1 | Carbon Emissions EVIC Intensity | Measures greenhouse gas emissions per $1 million of financing. |
#2 | Potential Carbon Emissions | Estimates emissions from fossil fuel reserves owned by a company. |
#3 | Implied Temperature Rise (ITR) | Assesses alignment with global warming scenarios. |
#4 | Carbon Emissions Revenue Intensity | Quantifies emissions per $1 million of revenue. |
#5 | Fossil Fuel Revenue | Determines revenue percentage from fossil fuel-related activities. |
#6 | Cleantech Revenue | Determines revenue percentage from environmental and climate opportunities. |
#7 | Low Carbon Transition (LCT) Score | Evaluates a company’s exposure to climate transition opportunities. |
#8 | Transition Climate VaR | Assesses costs from carbon pricing and low-carbon opportunities. |
#9 | Physical Climate VaR | Evaluates costs from increased exposure to physical hazards. |
Choosing the Right Metrics
Climate investing requires selecting the right measurement tools. For that, it is important to consider your purpose, the applicability, and acceptability of the climate strategy, and the availability of historical data for analysis, among other factors. The infographic above contains a flowchart designed to guide you through several key questions.
For example, do you want to:
- Measure your portfolio’s impact on the climate or the climate’s impact on your portfolio?
- Analyze present or forward-looking data?
- Assess direct impact or indirect impact via supply chains?
- Evaluate potential future emissions or projected temperature rise?
- Focus on climate risks or opportunities?
MSCI’s climate metrics toolkit can help investors confidently measure, manage, and report their climate risks and opportunities.

Download MSCI’s climate metrics toolkit now.

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