Since 2002
Postings and Commentaries by Ron Robins
Are green and socially responsible funds more efficient than conventional funds? A DEA approaches
“Findings: The results point out that socially responsible investment funds (SRIF) and green investment funds (GIF) are more efficient than conventional funds (CF). For five years, the CFs have not outperformed the GIF. Originality/value: The results suggest that there is a growing awareness on the part of investors that sustainable companies are the companies that…
Proxy-Voting Insights: How Differently Do The Big Three Vote on ESG Resolutions
“Voting decisions on these resolutions by the Big Three, primarily passive, asset managers—BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street—also clearly indicate the issues the firms are prepared to make a stand on regarding environmental and social themes. This is useful to investors in passive funds who may wish to select a manager whose voting record aligns most…
ESG Investors Improve Corporate Behavior
“New research shows that those who invest in stocks with positive environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores have improved the behavior of those companies.” [COMMENTARY] The author of this article, Larry Swedroe, often reviews the latest ESG-sustainability research and is worth following, ESG Investors Improve Corporate Behavior, by Larry Swedroe, June 29, 2023, Advisor Perspectives, USA.
Let’s be honest, ESG investing will actually hurt the environment
“The companies that score the highest on ESG metrics… means the likes of financial services, healthcare and digital are ‘green’. By contrast, companies that produce building materials, fertiliser or energy are ‘brown’… when brown companies are starved of capital, they become dirtier to avoid bankruptcy.” [COMMENTARY] The results of the study referred to in this…
These 50 Canadian corporate citizens are a cut above
“50% of each company’s score tied to the percentage of their revenue and investments that qualify as sustainable.” [COMMENTARY] I picked out the above quote to demonstrate that the Corporate Knights list is one of the few rankings where the revenue from what you produce matters! This ESG/sustainability list is worthwhile for all investors to…
U.S. public pensions could be $21 billion richer right now
“The study, out of the University of Waterloo in partnership with Stand.earth, analyzed the public equity portfolios of six major U.S. public pension funds, which collectively represent approximately 3.4 million people, to determine the effect divesting from their energy holdings would have had. In total, researchers estimate that the pension funds would have seen a…
ESG support falters this proxy season
“But investors adapting more tactics to engage with portfolio companies.” [COMMENTARY] This article contains a good breakdown of the number and successes of ESG-related proxies this AGM season. The number of proxies concerning the environment has dropped while those regarding social and governance issues are prioritized. ESG support falters this proxy season, by Hazel Bradford,…
The first ISSB reporting standards are here — what that means for investors
“The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), launched at COP26 in Glasgow, has published its first two finalized standards: S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and S2 Climate-related Disclosures.” [COMMENTARY] This is good news and an interview to read! The world is getting a lot closer to some uniform corporate sustainability reporting standards.…
EU aims to make green bonds greener
“Reflecting the growing volume of green bonds, the European Union has agreed a new set of rules known as the European Green Bonds Standard (EUGBS) that can be seen as a positive step from a reporting and transparency perspective. The regulation is due to take effect late into 2024.” [COMMENTARY] It’s likely that the EU…
Potential financial losses from a renewable energy transition are concentrated among the wealthy
“3.5 percent of financial losses would affect the poorest half of Americans… However, because their overall net wealth (assets minus liabilities) is significantly lower, researchers estimate that these losses could be compensated for $9 billion in Europe and $12 billion in the United States.” [COMMENTARY] Estimates concerning the losses on fossil-fuel-stranded assets are of course hypothetical.…
ESG regulatory approaches appear to be diverging in Europe and Asia
“Regulators in Asia and Europe have taken divergent approaches towards investment funds that focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments in their respective jurisdictions, an industry official said. The strategies reflect the different regulatory focus areas between authorities in various jurisdictions, as well as the local financial and economic priorities.” [COMMENTARY] In Asia they’re…
Global ESG regulation increases by 155% over the past decade
“1,255 ESG policy interventions have been introduced worldwide since 2011, according to ESG Book, compared to 493 regulations published between 2001 and 2010.” [COMMENTARY] To me. the data indicate the increasing importance and maturity of the ESG space. The increased regulation is likely to continue. Global ESG regulation increases by 155% over the past decade,…
I don’t own green funds because I want to live
“Nvidia designs the chips of choice for servers that run artificial intelligence software. Demand is booming. The US company also makes 80 per cent of the kit which allows such top-end AI processors to talk to each other. It’s all seen as green, as the virtual world is low on emissions. Well and good except…
ESG and Fiduciaries: A New Age Dawns
“Corporate directors and fiduciary leaders have long known about ESG, but the discussion has intensified in recent years. And this is just the beginning: ESG is the new frontier in defining fiduciary duties. Being reactive is no longer an option – directors and fiduciary leaders must usher their enterprise into the new era by incorporating…
EU proposes to regulate ESG ratings providers
“The European Union is to regulate agencies providing environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings in an effort to improve standards in an industry that guides trillions of dollars of investments.” [COMMENTARY] I agree that there need to be standards for the regulators. However, the standards should be such that they do not inhibit differing viewpoints!…
How Tobacco Companies Are Crushing ESG Ratings
“Companies like Altria have gone out of their way to emphasize the diversity of their corporate boards and the breadth of their social justice initiatives, from funding minority businesses to promoting transgender women in sports. But Tesla, whose executives are overwhelmingly white men, has resisted that bandwagon, going so far as to fire its top LGBT diversity officer last year. The ‘S’ in…
A cheat sheet of EU sustainability regulations
“Over the past year or so, a series of regulations and proposed rules have been handed down by the European Union affecting companies based or operating on that continent, including thousands of U.S. firms. It’s a dizzying and confusing array of initiatives, not to mention the acronyms that go with each. Just last week, the…
Exchanges Reach ESG Milestone
“The ninth Annual Sustainability Survey published by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the global industry group for exchanges and central clearing counterparties, has revealed that the industry has reached a milestone in collective efforts to achieve sustainability. The new data indicates that this year – for the first time since the surveys began –…
Clean Tech Faces Increasing Risks With Mining Tied to New Abuses
“Investors in clean technology face a growing list of risks via the supply chains feeding such products, according to a study by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s Transition Minerals Tracker. The report, which is updated annually, adds to data on the human rights implications of mining six minerals key to the energy transition, namely…
Do Investors Care About Impact?
“To sum up, investors care about impact, but they evaluate impact by feeling, not by calculation. This behavior can be exploited, with the result that prosocial ambitions go to waste. The solution is well-designed labels. To help you remember, we propose the panda bear law: If only products that actually help pandas are allowed to…
