Displaying items by tag: investors

Wednesday, 03 May 2023 05:18

6 ESG Picks for 2023: TD Cowen

In a Barron’s article, Lauren Foster discussed some ESG recommendations for 2023 from TD Cowen. The bank sees upside for ESG in 2023 due to an increasing focus on energy security, long-term decoupling from fossil fuel, and government-led investments in energy infrastructure. They identify six companies that offer the best combination in terms of ESG metrics and traditional investing factors: Air Products & Chemicals; Norwegian start-up FREYR Battery (FREY); Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital;Itron (ITRI), Piedmont Lithium (PLL); and Stem (STEM).

Air Products & Chemicals is the largest of these companies with a $66 billion market cap. TD Cowen notes its critical role in terms of boosting hydrogen production capacity which is a priority for the Biden Administration. It sees the company as being a potential leader in this space given its multiple projects throughout the Middle East and North America. 

Notably, many of the companies on Cowen’s list are down considerably given the underperformance of growth stocks since interest rates started moving higher. While there are some headwinds for ESG investing due to a more polarized political climate, Cowen sees the long-term drivers of demand as only strengthening in the coming years. 


Finsum: TD Cowen sees ESG picks as having upside in 2023. Here are 6 of its top selections.

Published in Wealth Management

The financial industry’s not just casually tweaking its monthly expense reports and watching things unfold.

 Nah uh. As it sachets toward holistic wealth management and “goal based” planning, the industry recognizes the importance of acquiescing asset management to third party strategists has mounted, according to wealthmanagement.com.

In two step with that escalating need is spiraling opportunities to accomplish that mission. While within the largest firms, already advisors can access model portfolios, now, their counterparts have more options.

And, hey, model portfolios tout more than a few advantages.

For example, there’s ease of use. “Model portfolios can be used as a complete solution for investors that prefer a hands-off approach to achieving their investing objectives,” said Colby McFadden, CEO of Quiver Financial, an Investment Advisory Firm in San Clemente California, according to forbes.com.

“Model portfolios can be used as a complete solution for investors that prefer a hands-off approach to achieving their investing objectives,” said McFadden.

Another: diversification. The need for a thick wad of money to pluck down on multiple asset classes? No need, noted Mark Kennedy, president of Kennedy Wealth Management in Calabasas, Calf. Some can have a minimum as low as $10,000 to start.”

Published in Eq: Financials
Sunday, 23 April 2023 06:06

ETFS reeling in the cash

Last month, investors must have spent more than a little time at their neighborhood ATM. After all, during that period, they poured $62.1 billion into ETFs, according to zacks.com.

 

That’s setting some pace, at that, considering it’s almost tripled February inflows, according to the BlackRock report. The first quarter net inflows as a result: $148.5 billion.

 

Fixed income ETFs fueled most of the inflows. Marking the largest gain since October, it hauled in approximately $38 billion.

 

Meantime, the Innovator, an outcome-based ETF issuer, recently was more than a little busy. It launched a unique suite of barrier ETFs that extends protection by scooping up U.S. Treasurys and selling equity options, according to cnbc.com.

“Advisors are realizing that bonds aren’t the safe haven that many thought they would be,” the firm’s CIO, Graham Day, told CNBC’s “ETF Edge.”  “If you can pair [a barrier ETF] with the fixed income, it offers a tremendous amount of diversification benefits.”

And talk about two birds with one stone. These ETFs nip credit risk in the bud and yield liquidity every day, Day explained.

Published in Bonds: Treasuries
Thursday, 20 April 2023 07:17

Florida Bars Public Investments in ESG

In an article for Bloomberg, Marvin G. Perez covered Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ latest move in his war against ESG. Lately, the movement for institutional investors to consider environmental, sustainability, and governance criteria in their investments has drawn criticism from conservatives.

 

Florida is increasingly the frontline for these political battles, so it wasn’t surprising to see the Republican-controlled State Senate approve a bill to abn state and local governments from using ESG criteria in making their decisions. Last month, the legislation passed the State House of Representatives and is expected to be signed into law by DeSantis soon.

 

DeSantis is looking to consolidate support as he is widely expected to enter the 2024 presidential race. He and others have criticized ESG investing as an overreach and symptomatic of ‘woke capitalism’. So far, Florida has pulled $2 billion from Blackrock funds which many consider to be the vanguard of the ESG movement.  

 

The legislation also bars municipalities from selling bonds that are connected to ESG projects or ratings. Last year, Florida sold about $13 billion in bonds, making it the fourth-largest issuer in the country. 


Finsum: Florida is increasing its efforts to combat ESG with the State Senate approving a bill that bars state and local governments from using ESG criteria in investments and selling bonds. 

Published in Wealth Management
Friday, 14 April 2023 10:51

Inflows May Be Behind ESG Outperformance

In an article for AdvisorPerspectives, Larry Swedroe of Buckingham Wealth Partners discussed the conundrum of ESG investing. In essence, the asset class is currently outperforming which many are interpreting as a validation of ESG’s promise. 

Yet, Swedroe contends that this conclusion is incorrect, since it doesn’t include the effect of increased inflows. In fact, a recent study from Norway’s oil fund revealed that non-ESG stocks actually delivered superior returns over a longer time period. One potential explanation is that inflows lead to increased valuations for ESG stocks, while it leads to depressed valuations for non-ESG stocks. 

Another explanation for the conundrum is that ESG stocks are less risky, because they on balance tend to have higher compliance standards and risk-management protocols. In the long-term, stocks with higher risk profiles tend to have better returns albeit with increased volatility. 

Companies with higher ESG scores also tend to be larger than companies with lower scores. This is another complicating factor as smaller companies tend to deliver higher returns over the long-term due to the risk premium. 

Overall, investors should understand that ESG outperformance is likely to be a short-term phenomenon due to the surge of inflows. Over the longer-term, the asset class could see lower returns due to a lower risk premium.


Finsum: ESG investing is booming, and many believe the asset class will continue to outperform. Larry Swedroe explains why it’s not so simple.

 

Published in Wealth Management
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