E-newsletter of Investing for the
Soul December
30, 2020
Ron Robins, Editor. E-mail /289-271-0873 Latest news at https://investingforthesoul.com/
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Latest Podcasts
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Latest Podcast:
Analysts Pick ESG Stocks to Buy! "ESG stocks to buy!
According to analysts. These include: AES, Aptiv, LG Chem, LONGi Green
Energy Technology, Siemens Energy, Infineon, Covestro, Deere, CJ
Cheiljedang, Bluestar Adisseo, Ball Corp, SCG Packaging, Bureau Veritas,
Verisk, Brookfield Renewable, First Solar, NextEra Energy, SolarEdge
Technologies, Acuity Brands, Inc., United Rentals, Inc., Rockwell
Automation, Inc, Union Pacific Corporation, and more...."
-- By Ron Robins
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Doing Good: Where Sustainable Investing Gets It Wrong. "But does a higher ESG score for an investment product necessarily translate into doing more good?"
[COMMENTARY]
Though not specifically addressed in this article -- though I concur with
its thesis -- is that the services or products of a company are often left
out of ESG sustainable performance ratings. So a few tobacco companies can
still score highly on ESG according to some raters!
Doing Good: Where Sustainable Investing Gets It Wrong, by Lucie Teplá,
December 16, 2020, INSEAD, Singapore.
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ESG Standards Convergence Could Happen in Next 12 to 24 Months, Accounting Body Chief Says. "Reporting standards in the world of environmental, social and governance investing, long a thicket of competing frameworks, could converge within 12 to 24 months, said Janine Guillot, head of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board."
[COMMENTARY]
I believe such news of convergence in standards would be almost
universally welcomed.
ESG Standards Convergence Could Happen in Next 12 to 24 Months, Accounting
Body Chief Says, by Leslie P. Norton, December 14, 2020, Barron's,
USA.
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Dramatic increase in sustainability reporting due to generational attitudes, ESG investing. "Eighty percent of companies now report on sustainability, compared with only 12 percent in 1993."
[COMMENTARY]
This read provides a good appreciation of reasons for the growth and
acceptance of sustainability reporting.
Dramatic increase in sustainability reporting due to generational
attitudes, ESG investing, by Kristen Beckman, December 9, 2020,
Benefits Pro, USA.
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5 Drivers Behind the Sustainable Investing Shift. "What is driving the shift to sustainable investing? This visual dashboard from Raconteur explains five key drivers, from generational shifts to investors' preferred strategies."
[COMMENTARY]
This is a useful read for advisors and brokers to understand and grow
their client base.
5 Drivers Behind the Sustainable Investing Shift, by Iman Ghosh,
December 9, 2020, Visual Capitalist, Canada.
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The Future of ESG Is ... Accounting? "That revolution is being led by the IFRS Foundation, the body that oversees the work of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in setting financial reporting requirements for most companies in the world, across more than 140 jurisdictions. (In the U.S., these requirements are set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB).
This past September, the IFRS Foundation proposed the creation of a parallel Sustainability Standards Board (SSB)."
[COMMENTARY]
Now that ESG is mainstream, it's about time that the accountancy
organizations got involved in creating universal accounting standards for
companies' ESG reporting.
The Future of ESG Is ... Accounting? By Richard Barker, University of
Oxford, December 3, 2020, Harvard Business Review, USA.
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Asset managers complain over CFA's proposed ESG standards. "CFA Institute' plan to create a global ESG standard has triggered concern among some US and European asset managers already juggling overlapping regulations and rising costs in a crowded space."
[COMMENTARY]
These concerns are valid. It seems to me that perhaps the UN's PRI should
get involved with all the standards-setting organizations to coordinate
the standards. A UN body just might be the best vehicle for doing that.
Asset managers complain over CFA's proposed ESG standards, by Caroline
Byrne, December 2, 2020, Corporate Secretary, USA..
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Featured Book
Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting, by Daniel
C. Esty and Todd Cort, Palgrave Macmillan 2020.
"In an effort to
better understand the current status and movement of this dynamic field
and to provide a practical reference for the growing pool of investors,
financial advisors, companies, and academics seeking information on
sustainable investing and ESG reporting, this edited book covers the
latest trends, tools, and thinking."
Note: Articles are linked to the original source. Some sites might require registration, and may, or may not, archive stories. All links were active at the time of publication.
Disclaimer: Neither The Soul Investor nor Ron Robins makes investment recommendations. Nothing in this newsletter should be interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation to buy/sell any securities or investments. The Soul Investor is a source of general information and resources for spiritual investing, ethical investing, and socially responsible investing (SRI). Investors should consider their actions thoroughly and consult their professional advisers prior to taking any investment action. The Soul Investor does not necessarily agree with the opinions expressed in articles in its newsletter or offered on the web pages to which it might be linked. Such opinions are the responsibility of the writers themselves. Furthermore, The Soul Investor does not offer or provide any warranties, representations, guarantees, implied or otherwise, as to the accuracy, legality, copyright compliance, timeliness or usefulness of the information, materials or services in this e-newsletter, or other sites, to which it might be linked. Also, Mr. Ron Robins is not an investment advisor, nor is he licensed with any professional investment related body, and thus is not able to, nor does he make, any investment recommendations.
The Soul Investor is a publication of Investing for the Soul, a registered business name in Ontario, Canada. Copyright © 2020 Ron Robins. All rights reserved.