May 2026 Newsletter
News & Commentaries by Ron Robins
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New May Podcast:
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How Investors Are Adapting to the SEC’s Deregulatory Agenda, and What to Do About It. “Investor engagement may become even more critical in an environment that reduces required disclosures to shareholders. Boards and management teams must anticipate the evolving investor response and build proactive strategies that balance regulatory relief with transparency and shareholder expectations.”
[COMMENTARY] By trying to reduce corporate reporting tasks, the Trump administration is necessitating that investors engage more with companies. This will be especially true for ethical and sustainable investors and ESG/sustainable fund managers!
How Investors Are Adapting to the SEC’s Deregulatory Agenda, and What to Do About It, by Ferrell Keel, Joel May, and Kim Pustulka, Jones Day, May 27, 2026, Harvard Law School Forum of Corporate Governance, USA.
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Attacks on ESG Investing are Also Attacks on Company Support for Sustainability. “In the last few years there have been mounting attacks against ‘woke capitalism’ and ESG investing…. Yet, literally thousands of major companies publish annual sustainability and corporate responsibility reports outlining their values, the business case for acting as responsible corporate citizens, and their goals and work on the environment, social issues, and governance.”
[COMMENTARY] The article provides numerous quotes supporting sustainability and ESG issues by leading executives at many of America’s most renowned companies. They demonstrate the total folly of arguments against sustainability and ESG, given their importance to corporate operations and profitability.
Attacks on ESG Investing are Also Attacks on Company Support for Sustainability, by Timothy Smith, ICCR & Shareholder Rights Group, May 26, 2026, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, USA.
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Will SpaceX Change The Fiduciary Role Of Corporate Directors? “Will SpaceX Change The Fiduciary Role Of Corporate Directors?”
[COMMENTARY] Even after SpaceX becomes a public company, Elon Musk will have virtually absolute control. He will “own 42.5 percent of the company’s equity and 83.8 percent of the voting control.” When I first entered the investment business in 1969, it was becoming perceived wisdom that ‘B’ class voting shares — as distinct from non-voting shares sold to the public — were being greatly discouraged. This share arrangement for Musk puts him in a position where his leadership could likely never be challenged!
Will SpaceX Change The Fiduciary Role Of Corporate Directors?, by Matthew Scott, May 21, 2026, Corporate Board Member, USA.
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Shareholder activists are changing tactics for promoting sustainability. “Climate-aligned investors are focusing more on private dialogues and corporate transition plans than ESG resolutions.”
[COMMENTARY] The success of sustainability, ESG, and climate change resolutions has been low for several years now. So, many in activist communities associated with these issues are finding more success in private discussions with corporate management.
Shareholder activists are changing tactics for promoting sustainability, by Eugene Ellmen, May 20, 2026, Corporate Knights, Canada.
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The future of responsible investing. “Summary of findings from the Future of Responsible Investing Asset Owner Group and broader project, convened by the PRI (United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment).”
[COMMENTARY] The UN’s PRI is a premier organization in the global responsible investment industry. What their new report has to say is worth reading.
The future of responsible investing, by Future of Responsible Investing Asset Owner Group, UN PRI.
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Too many ESG standards? “For many business leaders, ESG reporting can feel less like following a map and more like navigating a maze. There is no shortage of standards, frameworks and disclosure models to choose from.”
[COMMENTARY] As each country and region adopts often incompatible regulations and guidelines, it creates difficulties for companies. Investors need to be aware of how and what is reported and for whom.
Too many ESG standards? By Bianca Grohmann, Luo He, Rucsandra Moldovan and Matthäus Tekathen, May 13, 2026, Concordia, Canada.
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Norway Faces Dilemma on Openness in Wealth Fund Ethical Divestments, Finance Minister Says. “When Norway’s $2.2 trillion wealth fund — the world’s largest — sells a company’s shares over ethical concerns, should it explain why? This seemingly simple question has become a dilemma for its guardians, the finance minister told Reuters, as a government commission reviews the rules that have made the fund a global benchmark for ethical investing.”
[COMMENTARY] Governments have many constituencies to satisfy. When running the world’s largest ethical wealth fund, the problem of managing it on an ethical basis that satisfies most constituencies is impossible.
Norway Faces Dilemma on Openness in Wealth Fund Ethical Divestments, Finance Minister Says, by Gwladys Fouche, May 12, 2026, U.S. News, USA.
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Why the EU sees Chinese solar tech as a major security risk. “Europe’s solar boom is powered by Chinese technology. But experts warn Chinese-made tech could threaten the continent’s safety and even create blackouts. Now, Brussels is aiming to reduce its dependence.”
[COMMENTARY] The fears are centred around a possible security threat to European power systems and grids. One particular concern is that the heart of solar-powered systems is solar inverters, which are often connected to the internet. Investors investing in Chinese solar producers should read this article.
Why the EU sees Chinese solar tech as a major security risk, by Marie Sina, May 7, 2026, Deutsche Welle, Germany.
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Socially Minded Investors and Corporate Behavior. “Our conclusion is similar regarding the effect of willing-to-sacrifice shareholders on the workings of the managerial incentive structure’s sticks and carrots. We show that only in narrow circumstances will their presence lead to the firm making decisions differently from where all shareholders prefer share value maximization.”
[COMMENTARY] Though this paper is academic, it seems to say that socially minded investors have little effect on a firm’s behaviour.
Socially Minded Investors and Corporate Behavior, by Merritt B. Fox (Columbia Law School) and Menesh Patel (UC Davis School of Law), May 2, 2026, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, USA.
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S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indices 2026 Review Results. “The DJ BIC are float-adjusted market capitalization weighted indices that track equity markets while applying a sustainability best-in-class selection process.”
[COMMENTARY] The companies included in these indices usually have high ESG and sustainability credentials. It’s always interesting to see in any year who they drop and include.
S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indices 2026 Review Results, by S&P Dow Jones Indices, April 23, 2026, USA.
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Featured Book
Key Debates in Sustainable Investment. “ESG investing reduces the risk of an investment being caught in a scandal or an environmental accident, etc., but it does nothing to incentivise a company to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, for example.”
For more information, visit Key Debates in Sustainable Investment, by Rory Sullivan and Richard Perkins, April 21, 2026, by Routledge.
