News & Commentaries
Clients more open to advice on ESG investing.
"According to Legg Mason′s Global Investment Survey, advised investors are more than twice as likely to choose companies or funds according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors (50 per cent versus 18 per cent DIY investors). The survey found that more than three-quarters of advised investors said they would like to move money into…
“Impact investment” funds advertise great returns and social impacts. They aren′t delivering.
"When you do the math, impact investing seems worse for the world and worse for your pocketbook than just investing traditionally, earning higher returns, and donating the difference. Impact investments are often marketed as a cost-free way of doing good. But they′re not cost-free, and under typical circumstances it doesn′t look like they′re doing much…
3 Reasons ESG Investing Lags Behind Interest [in ESG].
"’There are several factors at play to help explain why financial advisors have not wholeheartedly adopted ESG mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs),’ Brendan Powers, senior analyst at Cerulli, said in a statement. Survey respondents listed 1). a sense that ESG strategies do not fit into client investment policy statements (26 percent), 2). negative impact…
The Year Wall Street Got Sustainable Investing.
"On October 23, 2018, the Financial Times published an article stating that Larry Fink, CEO of the world′s largest asset manager, BlackRock, had announced that ’sustainable investing will be a core component for how everyone invests in the future.’ In my opinion, [Amy Domini] Mr. Fink′s statement means that we early advocates have convinced the…
ESG investing a recipe for disaster.
"The attempts being made to expand the fiduciary obligations of pension fund trustees to incorporate ESG and, as yet, ill-defined ‘sustainability′ responsibilities are flawed and dangerous to the extent they weaken the obligation to maximise the financial interests of members… Empirical evidence to date, using data sets that are publicly available, suggests G is a…
Europe’s Largest Insurers Move To Limit Coal And CO2-Related Risks.
"’We also stopped insuring projects to build coal-fired power plants or any operation for oil sands mining and associated pipelines.–Thomas Buberly, chief executive of AXA.” [COMMENTARY]The Canadian and US governments have big pipeline projects involving oil sands’ products. Will this shift to avoiding such insurances become the industry norm and affect the development of these…
