Environmental, social and governance practices have become keys to growth plans for businesses of all sizes. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is providing guidance in the area with its new article: "ESG: Impact on Companies Doing Business in America and Why They Must Care." Trust, loyalty, risk avoidance and acting in the interest of shareholders are all best practices.

Trading of Eurex Group's environmental, social and governance futures based on the STOXX benchmarks has reached 235,000 contracts and €782 million in open interest in Europe since their February launch. Eurex's Michael Peters says the Nordic region has shown the greatest demand.

The credit-negative potential of applying environmental, social and governance criteria to CLO collateral has yet to become evident, according to a report by Moody's. So far, early ESG adopters in the CLO market are performing about as well as those without ESG designations.

One way Podium co-founder Eric Rea has maintained the startup's cohesive culture is through employees playing the video game Fortnite. Rea says gaming flattens hierarchy and encourages communication.

Environmental, social and governance-focused robo-adviser Swell Investing is shutting down, with founder Dave Fanger citing market conditions. The startup had $33 million in assets under management and 14,000 accounts as of a recent regulatory filing.