Since 2002
Postings and Commentaries by Ron Robins
Investing for social justice
“Advisors should ask how and why clients want to address racial equity in their portfolios.” [COMMENTARY] The article offers a good description of why ‘investing for social justice’ is having a difficult time. Investing for social justice, by Emile Hallez, February 12, 2024, InvestmentNews, USA.
Should ESG Investing be Criminalised?
“It sounds like an absurd question, but one US house of representatives has already pondered it, so is there method in the madness?” [COMMENTARY] The author of this article provides a good overview of the thinking behind the anti-ESG US movement. Should ESG Investing be Criminalised? By John Rekenthaler, February 5, 2024, Morningstar, UK.
Just eight asset managers achieve Morningstar’s top ESG rating
“Only eight global asset managers out of 97 have met Morningstar’s highest ESG commitment level rating in its latest analysis.” [COMMENTARY] So are most managers who purport to encompass ESG really greenwashing? No wonder securities regulators around the world are toughening their rules about the claims fund managers can make with their ‘ESG’ products! Just…
Just Capital’s 2024 Overall US Corporate Rankings
“Our annual Rankings reflect the performance of America’s largest publicly traded companies on the Issues that matter most in defining just business behavior today. The Issues, and their weights in our model, are determined by our polling of the American public.” [COMMENTARY] Just Capital’s methodology is intriguing, particularly from an ethical perspective. However, it’s difficult to assess the…
Comparing the Resilience of Socially Responsible and Sin Investment During the Covid-19 Pandemic
“The study diverges from the conventional narrative of SIN stocks’ superiority by illustrating the resilience and out-performance of SRI ETFs in terms of returns and volatility stability during the pandemic.” [COMMENTARY] The anti-ESG lobby should make note of the findings of this study. Comparing the Resilience of Socially Responsible and Sin Investment During the Covid-19…
Hero: The energy-storage pioneers creating mind-bending solutions
“From falling weights to compressed air, start ups around the world are taking on the challenge of building the energy-storage capacity we need to power the future.” [COMMENTARY] Fossil fuel proponents are constantly reminding us that due to the intermittency of the sun, wind, hydro, etc., that for baseload power gas-powered plants, especially, can fill…
Morgan Stanley Sustainable Signals: New Survey Shows High and Rising Individual Investor Interest in Sustainability
“Individual investors globally continue to be interested in sustainable investing (77%), with 54% planning to increase sustainable investments in the next year.” [COMMENTARY] The acronym ESG could disappear yet make little change in what companies and investors do! That is, to invest in companies that improve upon their ESG and sustainability fundamentals to increase their…
DeSantis’s defeat is a warning to all: Don’t go up against ESG
“But the fates of Desantis and Ramaswamy should come as no surprise. Poll after poll has shown that attacks against responsible investing are political losers. Across party lines, Americans overwhelmingly support corporations’ efforts to invest responsibly, and 70 percent of Republicans oppose government interference on this.” [COMMENTARY] The American public isn’t fooled. They see it’s big…
Are women more effective in sustainable finance than men?
“European funds managed by female or mixed-gender teams outperformed those led exclusively by men.” [COMMENTARY] This article states that women have more of a ‘buy and hold’ strategy than men and that this characteristic is partly responsible for outperforming men in fund management. Are women more effective in sustainable finance than men? By Julia Khandoshko,…
Polluting Firms Earn Higher Returns
“But these low-scoring ESG stocks carry greater risks.” [COMMENTARY] Companies just starting on their commitment to ESG or sustainability improvements often see significant stock price gains! Polluting Firms Earn Higher Returns, by Larry Swedroe, January 24, 2024, Morningstar, USA.
Who Made Newsweek’s 2024 List of America’s Most Responsible Companies?
“We’ve culled through the 600 companies to find the beauty brands, personal care players, suppliers and retailers who made the cut this year.” [COMMENTARY] Another good company ranking top American companies that ethical and sustainable investors might review. Who Made Newsweek’s 2024 List of America’s Most Responsible Companies? January 25, 2024, Happi, USA.
The Clean Energy Transition May Be Cheaper Than We Thought
“Cost estimates leave out some of the savings of using less fossil fuels, new analysis says.” [COMMENTARY] Let’s hope this premise becomes true! The Clean Energy Transition May Be Cheaper Than We Thought, by Dan Gearino, January 20, 2024, Mother Jones, USA.
The Impact of ESG Risk on Stocks
“This article examines the impact of ESG risk on US stocks through the lens of Sustainalytics’ ESG risk-rating measure over the past decade… stocks with low ESG risk ratings… not only have higher realized returns but also provide better tail-risk protection than stocks with high ESG risk ratings… especially during the COVID-19 crisis.” The Impact…
The Global 100 list: How the world’s most sustainable corporations are driving the green transition
“Now in its 20th year, the Global 100 ranking reveals that corporate leaders are pouring more of their revenues into sustainable investments than ever.” [COMMENTARY] The Global 100 ranking by Corporate Knights is probably the best company sustainability ranking globally. Unlike most other rankings, it takes into account the sustainability and utility towards a green…
A New Survey Finds Dropping ESG Support Among Young Investors
“In just one year, the percentage of those ages 18 to 41 who said they were “very concerned about environmental issues” plummeted from 70 percent to 49 percent. Among Gen Z and millennial respondents, who had the previous year registered 82 percent support for fund managers using their influence to shape the social policies or…
A new “world first” gold standard for EU green bonds
“As part of the European Commission’s strategy for financing the transition to a sustainable economy, the EU has been debating for some time how best to put in place a regulatory regime for EU green bonds. This has resulted in the long-awaited publication of the Regulation on EU Green Bonds (the EuGB Regulation) in the…
Big U.S. Fund Companies Retreat on Support for ESG Proxy Votes
“More ‘no’ votes by U.S. funds on key ESG resolutions contrasts with continued backing from European money managers.” [COMMENTARY] This is not surprising given the current environment in the USA. Most European investors still believe in ESG whereas, in the USA, many investors — particularly on the right of the political spectrum — have erroneously,…
Green Investments Begin To Pay Off For Big Banks
“For the second year in a row, global banks made more money from green investments like underwriting bonds and providing loans for green projects than they earned from financing oil, gas and coal activities.” [COMMENTARY] This is a great incentive for financial institutions to back the green agenda. Green Investments Begin To Pay Off For…
Four trends shaping sustainable finance’s future in 2024
‘The last 12 months have revealed a growing standoff between governments, civil society organizations and climate scientists on one hand, and the oil and gas industry and their partners in the financial sector on the other.” [COMMENTARY] Fundamentally, possibly most older, rich, right-wingers, — who largely populate the sectors in the quote above — don’t…
Md. comptroller: Climate risk is an investment risk, so why is Congress trying to prevent me from considering it?
“As Michael Bloomberg, noted, ‘anti-[environmental, corporate and government] crusaders position themselves as defenders of the free market. But they are attempting to use the government to block private firms from acting in the best interests of their clients.’” [COMMENTARY] I find it more than amusing that so-called defenders of the free market are frequently calling…
