(Las Vegas)

ESG may have started as a play from the conscience but as of late it has turned out to be just as potent of play for the wallet. Since the start of the pandemic green power exposed stocks in the S&P 500 such as First Solar, NextEra, Albemarle, LG Chem, and Samsung SDI have averaged 140% return compared to the S&P’s 41%. But the real hidden gem has been at home solar company Sunrun which posted a 212% return over the same time frame. The CEO says its wide base of customers draws in democrats and republicans and boosts demand. It also has dealt with Ford Motor Co. to cooperate on in-home charging for the new F-150 Lightning. It has risks as Tesla and Home Depot are trying to take up market share but Sunrun is the leading market contender.

FINSUM: At-home solar is one of the top plays right now, but wider ETFs could provide the exposure with less risk.

(New York)

Another jobs report hit the tape today, and another good reading, with job growth outpacing expectations. Crucially, there were also no signs of heavy wage growth that could stoke the market’s inflation fears. According, Treasury yields fell across the board, with the short end of the curve falling the most. Analysts feel that the report did not bring the dreaded Fed Taper any closer, which led to the fall in yields. Fed minutes will be released next week and that is the next time the market will get a peek into what the central bank may do next.

FINSUM: Two divergent paths here—either the market is falling into complacency, or the Fed’s view that inflation is “transitory” is starting to come true. It might only take an errant sentence form the Fed to spark a big correction.

(New York)

Any advisor likely already knows it, but it is worth repeating: ESG funds are troubling space. They are significantly more costly than traditional funds, have middling returns, and perhaps worst of all, these days they seem quite undifferentiated from conventional funds. One of the big problems in the space is that there is no universal definition of ESG or standard convention for defining ESG risks or parameters, so anyone can call anything “ESG”. For example, take a look at the top ten holdings of two funds, one a basic S&P 500 tracker, the other labeled “Large Cap ESG”, and you will see they have virtually no differences except that the ESG fund costs 40 bp at best and the conventional fund costs 9 bp.

FINSUM: Some people call ESG a pure marketing scam. To some extent that is true as it is pretty easy for fund providers to take advantage of ESG pricing without really doing anything under the hood. But at the same time, there is also genuine interest on the consumer and provider sides to expand opportunities in the space.

(New York)

General Electric is a withered giant. Sure, it has ridden the comeback since the start of the pandemic, but it's so far off the $30 price tag of five years ago. However, Goldman Sachs sees a better future in the tea leaves for GE. In a memo to investors, Goldman set a $16 price target for GE and sees it as a ‘self-help’ success story. Goldman alludes to the repaired finances and leverage under the CEO Larry Gulp. Additionally, a global recovery, higher energy consumption, and better margins could push their stock higher, potentially a $20 price target. Earning projections remain strong for GE through the end of the year.

FINSUM: General electric is in a solid cheap position and Goldman might have been on to something as the stock lifted to $13 early in the week.

(New York)

Stock and commodity prices have been all over the place of late…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site