Displaying items by tag: esg

Thursday, 12 September 2019 11:56

Where ESG Investing is Thriving

(New York)

If you asked almost anyone in the industry, the answer would be the same: it is Millennials with whom ESG investing is very popular, “we just can’t get older generations to care”. However, that is not exactly true. While Millennials get most of the credit for caring about socially-conscious investments, it is actually the generation above them, Gen X, which is doing the most ESG investing. A big part of this fact is down to the reality that Gen X is still richer than the younger Millennials. Millennials still win in terms of the overall percentage who buy ESG investments, but Gen X is seeing assets in ESG funds surge quickly. Gen X consists of anyone aged 39-54 years old.


FINSUM: This is a pretty interesting statistic and one that could be useful to some advisors who might be nervous to propose ESG options to those 50+. That said, the desire for ESG investing often comes from the client.

Published in Eq: Total Market
Thursday, 05 September 2019 17:05

Walmart’s Latest Move Could Really Boost Its Stock

(New York)

Walmart did something a lot of conservatives may not like this week—they announced that they would stop selling ammunition for assault weapons. Despite the political turbulence it may cause for the company, it could have a bullish effect on the stock in the long run. The reason why might not be obvious at first glance, but immediately becomes so once you hear it—the ban on assault weapons ammunition will give the company a higher ESG score, which means it may be included in more funds by default, and thus see increased buying.


FINSUM: Whatever your politics on this move, from an investment perspective this could be bullish.

Published in Eq: Large Cap
Monday, 11 February 2019 11:04

The Most Sustainable Companies

(San Francisco)

Barron’s has just put out a very timely list. The publication has compiled a list which ranks the 100 top companies according to sustainability. Sustainability, which is a component of and often linked to ESG, has become an increasingly important component of returns, so Barron’s rankings will likely make a difference to portfolios. The top ranked firm is Best Buy, followed by Cisco, Agilent Technologies, Texas Instruments, Voya Financial, and Clorox. The top 25 also includes Salesforce, Cummins, and Kellogg.


FINSUM: ESG is an increasingly important area not only for returns, but also for clients, so this is quite a handy list for what can be a surprisingly difficult to handle issue (i.e. deciding which companies are sustainable and not).

Published in Eq: Total Market
Friday, 10 August 2018 08:29

ESG: Financiers Need Academics

(New York)

ESG is growing steadily in the asset management community. More and more capital is being to committed to green bonds and other sustainable investments. Yet, as anyone who pays close attention will know, the definition of “green” or “sustainable”, is poorly defined. Academics have not helped, as their research—a big part of the movement—has somewhat muddled the power of the brand. Now, however, finance is demanding more research from academics, and both are aiming to work together more closely to deliver a better ESG product.


FINSUM: We can speak from experience in saying that when you get down to actual company selection according to ESG factors, it becomes very difficult to make any informed choices because of how little core data there is on which to make a decision.

Published in Eq: Large Cap
Monday, 07 May 2018 09:51

DOL Warns on ESG Investments

(Washington)

Last week the DOL put out a warning to firms about launching and holding ESG investments. About the socially and environmentally conscious investments, the DOL reminded fund providers that fund performance needs to trump any social impact considerations of the funds. Despite the warnings, Bank of America has just launched five new model ESG portfolios.


FINSUM: What does this mean exactly? ESG portfolios have an explicit focus on social good, which at times could mean the funds either out- or under-perform. To us, this is an odd and pointless warning.

Published in Wealth Management
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