"Research, appearing in The Atlantic magazine that the average holding time for stocks fell from eight years in 1960 to eight months in 2016 and that 80% of the CFOs say they would sacrifice economic value of their firm to meet quarterly expectations.

The results are high turnover in investments, which involves trading costs that can reduce gains; more share buybacks by corporations instead of investments in capital equipment or employees; and increased risks in those stocks, according to the report [by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management]."

[COMMENTARY]Merrill concludes companies focusing on long-term results will likely outperform those with a short-term focus. And ESG, by it’s nature, has a long-term view. Thus, investors with a long-term ESG perspective could have better returns than those having a short-term non-ESG orientation. Hopefully, market participants will begin to understand this message and the mania surrounding quarterly results will ebb!
Another Way ESG Investing Can Boost Portfolios, by Bernice Napach, June 18, 2018, ThinkAdvisor, USA.