January 2026 Newsletter
News & Commentaries by Ron Robins
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New January Podcast:
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It’s not just ESG – all shareholder rights are being threatened in the U.S. “OPINION | Proposed legislation by Ted Cruz to block voting on ESG and DEI proposals is just the tip of a broader attack on shareholder democracy.”
[COMMENTARY] Restricting the proxy rights of shareholders is anathema to most investors. Hence, should this measure pass, it’s likely to be unpopular among investors.
It’s not just ESG – all shareholder rights are being threatened in the U.S. By Julie Bernard, January 23, 2026, Corporate Knights, Canada.
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2026 Sustainable Investment Outlook: 7 key trends for North America in the year ahead. “The landscape for the new year will likely be shaped by major themes that include a pragmatic focus on physical climate risk and adaptation, a heightened emphasis on labor and human capital, an increased interest in bringing sustainability and impact considerations to private markets, and the emergence of more sophisticated tools to evaluate the risks and opportunities in nature investing.”
[COMMENTARY] This is an in-depth analysis by a competent firm.
2026 Sustainable Investment Outlook: 7 key trends for North America in the year ahead, by Marina Severinovsky, January 14, 2026, Schroders, USA.
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If you want to invest in helping the environment, don’t bother with ESG funds. “Companies in the S&P 500 SPX with high ESG ratings actually produced 12% more carbon emissions than their lower-rated industry peers, report professors Panos Patatoukas of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Jinsung Hwang of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, South Korea… The reason for this? ‘ESG assessments reward disclosure practices and management processes rather than actual environmental outcomes,'”
[COMMENTARY] Now this is an interesting finding! Since I believe this is the first study to report this outcome, it needs to be replicated by other outside researchers. However, if the findings are replicated, then ESG rating organizations need to rethink their ESG scoring systems. Also, what about fund managers and investors? How should they respond?
If you want to invest in helping the environment, don’t bother with ESG funds, by Brett Arends, January 15, 2026, Morningstar, USA.
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Driving Europe’s new ESG gold standard with Euroclear. “In early 2025, a quiet progression unfolded in Europe’s capital markets. For the first time, bonds were issued under the European Union’s new European Green Bond Standard (EuGBS) – a framework being hailed as the ESG ‘gold standard’ for green finance.”
[COMMENTARY] A new EU green bond standard has come into effect with the European Green Bond Standard by Euroclear. It will be exciting to see if this standard grows beyond the European theatre!
Driving Europe’s new ESG gold standard with Euroclear, by Dan Kuhnel, January 1`4, 2026, Euroclear.
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Sustainable investing trends for 2026: Morningstar Sustainalytics. “In its recent Sustainable Investing Trends report, Morningstar Sustainalytics provided a comprehensive review of sustainable investing in 2025 and market insights for the new year.”
[COMMENTARY] Morningstar Sustainalytics does a good job in reviewing sustainable investing trends.
Sustainable investing trends for 2026: Morningstar Sustainalytics, by Angelique Minas, January 8, 2026, Sustainability, USA.
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Putting care before profit makes companies stronger. “OPINION | Research shows that when businesses prioritize community care over financial returns, they outperform their competitors.”
[COMMENTARY] It seems to me that what these researchers have found is what many studies demonstrate: that by applying ESG principles to their business operations, companies perform better operationally and financially. Two great books on this subject are mentioned in the article. Both were written by the authors.
Putting care before profit makes companies stronger, by Isaac Getz and Laurent Marbacher, January 5, 2026, Corporate Knights, Canada.
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The most sustainable [Canadian] equity funds in 2026. “Despite Trump’s war on renewables, green funds are riding high after a strong year for the sustainable economy.”
[COMMENTARY] You can’t keep ‘a good idea down’. Companies applying sustainable and ESG practices do so because it improves their operations — and most likely their profitability. That’s why President Trump et al are fighting a losing war against it.
The most sustainable [Canadian] equity funds in 2026, introduction by Saint Ekpali, January 7, 2026, Corporate Knights, Canada.
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Mandatory CSR spending by [Indian] firms can lead to low investor confidence: Study. “The study affirmed that there is a positive correlation between CSR expenditure on alleviating poverty and the implied cost of equity (CoE) for the Indian companies.”
[COMMENTARY] The Indian government mandates CSR spending by many companies. However, unlike in the West, Indian CSR spending is commonly directed towards charities that help alleviate poverty. I have not seen any similar evidence from Western investors that their CSR spending leads to low investor confidence.
Mandatory CSR spending by [Indian] firms can lead to low investor confidence: Study, by Press Trust of India New Delhi, January 4, 2026, Business Standard, India.
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Would Your Company Want To Stop Filing Quarterly Reports if No Longer Required? “The Trump administration and the SEC say they want to eliminate the need for quarterly financial reports by public companies, a move that would reduce the regulatory burden on companies and encourage more long-term thinking.”
[COMMENTARY] I agree with the logic and intent of this proposal. There’s too much short-term thinking by investors and companies — for a variety of reasons — and hopefully, eliminating quarterly reports will help orient everyone to more profitable longer-term perspectives.
Would Your Company Want To Stop Filing Quarterly Reports if No Longer Required? By Anita Bandy, Elizabeth R. Gonzalez-Sussman, and Raquel Fox, January 3, 2026, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, USA.
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Featured Book
Note: Ron Robins is an Amazon Associate. He thus earns fees from qualifying book or merchandise purchases referred from this website.
The New Sustainability Edge: Redefining Business from Startups to Industry Leaders. “This book challenges conventional approaches to sustainability and redefines what it means to create lasting impact. Featuring insights from 30 world-class academics, researchers, and business leaders, this essential guide explores how businesses can move beyond profit-driven models to embrace sustainability as a core strategy for success.”
For more information, visit: The New Sustainability Edge: Redefining Business from Startups to Industry Leaders, by Philip Kotler and Khalid Hasan,
© 2026 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul
