We have been advising clients on issues around sustainability since the late 1990s, when one of our European clients first came to us with the idea to convert his company’s whole product line to SRI funds.

Naturally, the idea was good but the board voted against this macrobiotic revolution of its money management business. Ten years later we are in the umpteenth rebirth of the idea and we still lack a definition, terminology and brand with investors.

SRI, ethical, Sharia-compliant, green, climate change, environmental investing and much much more.

The theme of course has always made more sense for SMAs than for publicly registered pooled vehicles, after all your vice might be my virtue and compromises are hard to find these days (ask the US Senate or the European Commission). Today we have some $260 billion in sustainable funds worldwide. First, that is still very small (see reasons above). Second, it’s up from $200 billion last year. Third, Europe is the leader globally, while Asia, not a surprise, does not shall we say place a lot of emphasis on the theme for now.

But money managers shouldn’t be too torn up or frustrated since even brand-fanatic industries like fashion cannot figure it out.

We now have organic and pre-organic clothing lines as part of a movement towards sustainable fashion.

However, nobody in fashion is able to define sustainability (ask ten people, get ten different answers).

For de la Renta it’s traditional techniques, for others locally sourced materials – and Dries van Noten calls sustainable fashion a “contradiction in terms”.

Since customers and the Zeitgeist demand more transparency, whether it’s your chicken, socks or investments, it seems best to mislead customers until there are common standards and regulatory overlays, case in point: pre-organic.

Pre-organic? Cotton from a farm on its way to being organic… there you have it. Maybe one should offer a pre-ethical fund, with a portfolio manager on his way to finding his conscience.

However, this seems here to stay and not just a fad – the FTs fashion editor this weekend called green “not the new black, but a paradigm shift that demands its own language”.

I guess we need to – again – turn to Bill Gross. After bringing us the “New Normal” he this month recycled “Finding Nemo’s Ring of Fire” for countries he would avoid (“the U.K. is a must to avoid. Its Gilts are resting on a bed of nitroglycerine”).

Absolute return was the last biggie (never clearly defined), followed by BRIC (Jim O’neill claimed it and became famous).

Green, ethical and sustainable investing will define money management in more ways than one and past performance also here is no indication of the future – the man that brought us the iPod is now stuck with the iTampon (and some trademark issues).

The winner will earn more than 2-and-20. Japan and China know.