News & Commentaries by Ron Robins

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Hedge Funds Employing Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)! – [COMMENTARY] Can this be true? According to sources cited in this report, there are at least three dozen hedge funds applying environmental and social screens. Many of them see such positioning as an added benefit to gaining more investors. Some of these funds, by going ’short’, may even bet against companies with the worst environmental and social policies. (Going short means borrowing shares you do not own [from a broker], then selling them now, hoping to buy the same shares back latter at a lower price. For instance, by selling the shares at $50 and then buying them back latter at $30, you make a $20 profit per share.)
Hedge funds embracing social mandate, by Jeff Benjamin, June 25, 2007, InvestmentNews, USA.

Bank Reports Cite Possible Winning Companies In Climate Change Thrust. – [COMMENTARY] Environmentally oriented investors may find some useful investment related information in these reports. Read the summary of these leading bank reports below.
Financial services … Banking on climate change′s consequences, by Mike Scott, June 18, 2007, Climatechangecorp.com, UK.

Study: The Financial Advisor – Client Relationship. – [COMMENTARY] State Street Global Advisors and Knowledge@Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) have completed an interesting survey of the financial advisor – client relationship. It is a useful read for all investors, especially the charts on pages 12-14. The charts frequently show marked differences between what advisors believe their clients perceive or understand in relation to fees, trust, satisfaction with their advisor, etc. – and what those clients actually think!
Bridging the Trust Divide: The Financial Advisor-Client Relationship,State Street Global Advisors andKnowledge@Wharton, USA.

Ethical Funds Gaining. – [COMMENTARY] Ethical funds have been frequently enjoying above average gains in part because they have not invested in some industries that have lagged the market generally. This is what I have been predicting would happen – see About Us.
Ethical funds gain as screened-out sectors underperform, says Britton, by Matthew Goodburn, June 14, 2007, Citywire.com, UK.

US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Wants To Stop Whole Foods Market Inc.’s Proposed Takeover Of Wild Oats Markets Inc. – [COMMENTARY] I suppose the FTC is concerned that the two largest organics food retailers would create some sort of monopoly. I suggest that they visit almost any other large US supermarket to see just how absurd that proposition is!
Whole Foods, Wild Oats To Challenge FTC Lawsuit, by Jessica Wohl, June 6, 2007, Environmental News Network, Source: Reuters, USA.

19% Of US Defined Contribution (DC) Pension Plans Offer Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Options; Another 41% Will Within Three Years. – [COMMENTARY] As reported on June 1, the growth of SRI options in DC pension plans for US employees is growing fast. Now we have the full details of the Mercer Investment Consulting Report. See the article below.
DC Plans & SRI in the USA, June 5, 2007, Mercer Investment Consulting, USA.

World’s Greenest Companies According to UK Newspaper & EIRIS.– [COMMENTARY] The UK’s The Independent newspaper and Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS) report on what they consider to be the greenest companies in Britain and the world.
Green Leaders: A guide to the world’s greenest companies, by Karen Attwood, June 1, 2007, The Independent, UK.

Shares Of Green Companies Make Big Gains In London. – [COMMENTARY] Large mainstream funds are now going green and contributing to significant price rises in green companies on the London Stock Exchange. We are still in the early stages of the green revolution. However, as in all past technological phase transitions, there will only be a few winners. If you are considering investing in this area, be sure to seek both expert technical and investment advice.
How green turned into gold, by Patrick Collinson, June 2, 2007, The Guardian, UK.