August 2024 Newsletter
News & Commentaries by Ron Robins
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New August Podcast:
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Goldman Analysis Sheds Light on Rise of Commodities in ESG. “The days of equating ESG with the blacklisting of commodities are over, it seems.”
[COMMENTARY] ESG fund managers and investors are realizing there is no net zero without substantial new investment in base metals and raw material mining and extraction. It’s early days for investors to get in on the investment opportunities in this area.
Goldman Analysis Sheds Light on Rise of Commodities in ESG, by Lisa Pham, August 28, 2024, Yahoo! Finance, USA.
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Jennifer N. Coombs: 10 things ESG scores can (and can’t) do for investors. “ESG data can help investors identify potentially problematic companies, long before traditional valuation methods would pick up on the issue.”
[COMMENTARY] This article provides a good overview of this subject for investors.
Jennifer N. Coombs: 10 things ESG scores can (and can’t) do for investors, by Jennifer Coombs, August 27, 2024, Equities,com, USA.
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ESG: Are Exclusions on Their Way Out? By Leslie Norton. “Not so fast. Omitting stocks is still popular with a wide range of investors, including those in Europe and fossil-fuel-free fans”
[COMMENTARY] Anyone applying personal values to investing will exclude certain industries and companies. This will always be the case, even though some managers like Parnassus have opted to remove exclusions. It’ll be interesting over time to see what, if any, changes there are to the investor base.
ESG: Are Exclusions on Their Way Out? By Leslie Norton, August 23, 2024, Morningstar, UK.
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How Financial Markets Can Drive Climate Action. “By engaging with high-emitting industries, rather than simply divesting from them, investors could help achieve. meaningful climate progress while still delivering sufficient financial returns.”
[COMMENTARY] This article ties in with my thoughts in my previous post concerning the new approach by Parnassus Investments!
How Financial Markets Can Drive Climate Action, by , August 16, 2024, Project Syndicate, USA.
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ESG screening is a complex business. Here’s how long-time ESG manager Parnassus is adapting. “Parnassus Investments, one of America’s oldest and most respected ESG boutiques, is adding once off-limits market segments such as oil and gas to its investment opportunity set, even as executives there warn that the hurdle for including such companies in its portfolios remains high.”
[COMMENTARY] I believe the approach by Parnassus on investment selection criteria is likely to be followed by many other ESG and sustainable investment managers. We need to encourage ‘dirty’ industries to become more oriented to ESG and sustainable operations. The type of action taken by Parnassus could help with that.
ESG screening is a complex business. Here’s how long-time ESG manager Parnassus is adapting, by Douglas Appell, August 19, 2024, Pensions&Investments, USA.
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The 2024 Proxy Season: Which ESG Proposals Made the Podium? “Support for environmental and social resolutions was lower again in 2024, while support for governance proposals rebounded.”
[COMMENTARY] Governance proposals often encompass environmental and social concerns. As authoritative commentators have noted, the ‘E’ and ‘S’ aspects of ESG are inherently about corporate operative and financial performance. They necessitate being addressed no matter what language or symbols are used!
The 2024 Proxy Season: Which ESG Proposals Made the Podium? By
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Moving Beyond ESG. “The barrage of criticism has caused ESG to lose its luster among many executives. Yet the need for a transparent way to connect a company’s financial performance with its ESG performance remains.”
[COMMENTARY] This is a well-argued article from someone with outstanding academic and ESG credentials.
Moving Beyond ESG, by Robert G. Eccles, September-October 2024, Harvard Business Review, USA.
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Microsoft Unveils New Multi-Framework ESG Reporting Solution. “Microsoft announced Project ESG Reporting, a new tool aimed at enabling companies to create, review and approve ESG reports across multiple standards and frameworks.”
[COMMENTARY] This new Microsoft product could become a standard tool, particularly useful for securities analysis..
Microsoft Unveils New Multi-Framework ESG Reporting Solution, by Mark Segal, August 12, 2024, ESG Today, USA.
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Despite Anti-ESG Attacks, New Study Shows Investors See Climate as Critical to Business Performance. “Critically, three out of four investors (77%)—including 61% of Republicans—explicitly believe that ‘environmentally responsible companies are more likely to succeed financially.’”
[COMMENTARY] A study appearing in an article in the Harvard Business Review shows that the Republican push against ESG inclusion in company or portfolio analysis is not aligned with the majority of Republican investors.
Despite Anti-ESG Attacks, New Study Shows Investors See Climate as Critical to Business Performance, by Michael Maslansky and Will Howard, August 7, 2024, Harvard Business Review, USA.
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Commentary: Why the backlash? Sustainable investing is simply better investing. “In a few years’ time ESG will be a redundant acronym. Assessing risk to a business, and therefore an investment, will automatically consider risks from climate change, environmental liabilities, social protection and the ongoing governance of how companies are managed.”
[COMMENTARY] I concur with the argument here! The characteristics of what is inherent in the acronym ESG are what is being, and going to be, integrated into investment decisions. The term ESG is of no consequence.
Commentary: Why the backlash? Sustainable investing is simply better investing, by Hans Stoter, July 30, 2024, Pensions&Investments, USA.
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Featured Book
Note: Ron Robins is an Amazon Associate. He thus earns fees from qualifying book or merchandise purchases referred from this website.
Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting. “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.”
For more information, visit Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting, by Daniel C. Esty and Todd Cort, Palgrave Macmillan 2020.
