Displaying items by tag: Blackrock

(New York)

In an article that addresses an issue unknown to us—that Americans don’t give US stocks enough love (?!)—BlackRock says that investors should buy American stocks in some select sectors. BlackRock says that “We have upgraded our tactical view of U.S. equities to overweight from neutral” continuing “The reason: Impending fiscal stimulus is supercharging U.S. earnings growth expectations”. Blackrock says it likes American tech stocks, US financials, and momentum and value plays.

FINSUM: US stocks surely haven’t been short on love over the last year, but we suspect BlackRock just means in the last few weeks. In that perspective, we agree that things aren’t as bearish as many fear.

(New York)

Some may like it, some may not, but there is no changing the fact that ESG, or the acronym used to describe various social, governance, and environmental considerations when investing, is now part of the mainstream. Asset managers large and small, recently led by BlackRock, are now using ESG as a key factor in their investing. One asset manager comments that “In general, companies with the strongest records on employee relations and environmental sustainability, for example, often have better financial performance over the long run than those with the weakest records … Do you really want to hold a carbon-intensive company that’s not thinking about [the risks?”.

FINSUM: The big news here is that ESG and other “responsible” funds have had better returns in recent years than conventional funds, so the old mode of thinking this area has poor returns needs to shift.