“Transitioning to a net-zero carbon economy* is vitally important, and corporate bonds will play a critical role in the transition. To support that journey, sustainable investors should monitor the carbon impact of the corporate bonds in their portfolios. But there’s a lot more to understanding a bond portfolio’s carbon footprint than conventional metrics can show.”…

“The only reasonable conclusion from reading [this book] it is that short-termism is like the proverbial emperor with no clothes. It may be emotionally satisfying, but there is very little, if any, empirical evidence to support its main theses. It is, in other words, a theory in search of non-existing empirical support. It is more…

“Despite the urgency coming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy cannot happen without first having acceptable alternatives, says Richard Ottinger, dean emeritus of Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. Solar and wind installations must be built first, and transmission lines. No country would accept the economic…

“As energy stocks surged and tech tumbled, sustainable portfolios had a tough quarter.” [COMMENTARY]I argue that most ESG funds are too concentrated in tech and financials. Though most of their investors desire a zero-carbon world, there’s no way we get there without massive new mineral (copper, silver, lithium, cobalt, etc.) — read mining — development.…

“Climate-related financial risks are getting growing attention — but a new survey from BCG casts doubt on how seriously institutional investors are taking them. Just one in 20 investors polled by the consulting firm said that climate and ESG-related issues were among the three risks they took most seriously. And only 11 per cent of…

“Investors have been keen to show their green credentials by shunning carbon-intensive industries. The cost of that virtue signalling is now becoming apparent.” [COMMENTARY]Most ethical and sustainable investors shun investing in companies producing lots of carbon in their operations. My thinking is twofold. Firstly, it’s a moral issue if we choose to make fossil fuels…

“None of the high sustainability funds outperformed any of the lowest rated funds… companies in the ESG portfolios had worse compliance record for both labor and environmental rules.” [COMMENTARY]Though this writer got published in a highly prestigious journal, it seems he was quite selective in his choice of papers to include in this article. To…

“The purpose of this project is to assess the degree to which companies with a stated social purpose are governing, implementing, and disclosing progress on their purpose. This is the first Social Purpose Rating in the world focused on implementation… Out of an initial sample of 197 businesses with headquarters or significant operations in Canada,…

“Amy Domini, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, started one of the first socially responsible funds 30 ago. She sees ESG as the third major wave of change in asset management, with Benjamin Graham’s value investing and modern portfolio theory being the first two significant waves of change.” [COMMENTARY]In this article one of the…

“These proposals, though few, are increasing and contribute noise to analyses of ESG voting… Issues include ideological diversity of the boards, lobbying, charitable donations, and, more recently, issues around racial justice.” [COMMENTARY]Apparently, these ‘anti’ ESG proposals are mostly from conservative groups.The Rise of Anti-ESG Shareholder Proposals, by Ruth Saldanha, March 28, 2022, Morningstar, Canada.

“Finally we are looking at the possibility of one comprehensive global standard for disclosure on sustainability and ESG, which will help to develop a transparent and comparable understanding of how to report sustainability risks and what they mean.” [COMMENTARY]It seems that many of the leading ESG standards’ organizations have some kind of understanding regarding ESG…

“As the war in Ukraine rages, finance professionals on Wall Street and in Europe recently attracted outrage by suggesting that investing in arms manufacturers should be treated as ethical investing. In the fight against tyranny, they argued that such an investment ‘preserves peace and global stability’ and defends ‘the values of liberal democracies’. As such,…

“SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently announced plans to formulate a human capital disclosure requirement for public companies. Reporting metrics might include worker turnover, skills and development training, compensation, benefits and workforce demographics related to diversity, health and safety.” [COMMENTARY]It’s quite likely that most large companies determine these metrics anyway for internal assessments and use. Also,…

“Hedge funds keen to get a piece of the $40 trillion ESG market are voicing growing frustration over what they say is an absence of clear regulations for one of their most popular investment strategies. Firms including Man Group Plc and BlueBay Asset Management LLP say disclosure rules for environmental, social and governance investing still…

“The EU Taxonomy aims to align market participants on definitions of sustainability, but investors need to dig deeper to know just how ‘green’ a fund really is.” [COMMENTARY]I believe that it’s a great idea ethical and sustainable that funds differentiate themselves according to how ‘green’ their revenues are. And it’s happening. I really like what…

The momentum and support for environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration into the investment process has reached critical mass. Most companies now recognize the strategic need to have an ESG story, and some are even leveraging ESG leadership as a key differentiator from competitors.” [COMMENTARY]This article is an informed opinion on the state of ESG…

“But do ESG ratings really deliver on the promise? Are highly-ranked ESG businesses really more caring of the environment, more selective of the societies in which they operate, and more focused on countries with good corporate governance? In short, is ESG really good? The answer is no. We demonstrate this by focusing on a group…

“Speaking with Barron’s Advisor, Hale says sustainable-fund active managers may need to tweak their approach to continue outperforming. He weighs the potential impact should the Labor Department reverse the Trump-era policy of blocking retirement advisors from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment strategies. And he explains why some financial advisors call creating a sustainable-investing niche…

“In a just-published series of critical articles in The Wall Street Journal, columnist James Mackintosh outlines the ‘failed promise’ of ESG investing and describes it as ‘absurd’ to claim that investments in green bonds deliver higher yields. He also warns that ‘bubbles’ in sustainable investing can ‘sink your portfolio’ and lectures that investors who think…

“GenderSmart recently created an investor toolkit that applies an impact lens of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI). Financial advisors should note that 35% of clients who have sustainability goals are looking to switch wealth managers in the next three years, over twice as many as among clients without sustainability goals (15%).” [COMMENTARY]In studies looking…