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Give with greater impact

Gifts to your donor-advised fund can now be invested in sustainable investment strategies that potentially grow your contributions while relying upon ESG principles

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) offer a convenient, flexible, tax-advantaged way of giving that offers your contributions, because they are invested, the opportunity to potentially grow over time. These benefits make DAFs one of the fastest-growing philanthropic vehicles, with contributions increasing an average of 18% annually over the past decade.¹ They can be even more appealing when you know that your contributions can be invested in sustainable investing portfolios. “Sustainable investments allow donors to magnify the impact of their charitable giving — aligning their values and charitable priorities to both their grant and asset management strategies,” explains Donald J. Greene, national donor-advised fund executive, Bank of America Private Bank.

To that end, seven portfolios with sustainable investment strategies, including Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors, are available through the Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund. “Our sustainable portfolios help donors stay true to their social values regardless of the investment objective they’ve selected to reflect their charitable giving strategy with the Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund,” says Greene. Donors can make gifts directly through the Charitable Gift Fund’s online portal to any of the more than 1.8 million IRS-recognized charities in the U.S.

Multi-chart infographic detailing four reasons to consider putting DAF contributions in sustainable investing portfolios: popularity, performance, adoption, tax. Visit the link below for long description.

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¹ National Philanthropic Trust, “2021 Donor-Advised Fund Report,” November 2021.

² Morningstar, “U.S. Sustainable Funds Landscape Report,” 2022.

³ Morningstar, “U.S. Sustainable Funds Landscape Report,” 2022.

⁴ American Endowment Foundation, “5 Primary Tax Benefits to Donors,” as of June 2021.

⁵ Hurwit & Associates, “Starting a Private Foundation,” as of June 2021.

Important Disclosures

Investing involves risk. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Bank of America, Merrill, their affiliates, and advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. Clients should consult their legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.

Sustainable and Impact Investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) managers may take into consideration factors beyond traditional financial information to select securities, which could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. Further, ESG strategies may rely on certain values-based criteria to eliminate exposures found in similar strategies or broad market benchmarks, which could also result in relative investment performance deviating. Impact investing and/or ESG investing has certain risks based on the fact that ESG criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons and therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller.

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Investing involves risk. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Asset allocation, rebalancing and diversification do not guarantee against risk in broadly declining markets.

Merrill, its affiliates, and financial advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.

This material is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or investment strategy. Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory (including financial planning) and other services. Additional information is available in our Client Relationship Summary.

This material does not take into account a client’s particular investment objectives, financial situations, or needs and is not intended as a recommendation, offer, or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or investment strategy. Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory (including financial planning) and other services. There are important differences between brokerage and investment advisory services, including the type of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and the rights and obligations of the parties. It is important to understand the differences, particularly when determining which service or services to select. For more information about these services and their differences, speak with your Merrill financial advisor.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

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Give with greater impact

4 reasons to consider putting DAF contributions in sustainable investing portfolios.