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[ethicsustinvest]

The Missing “T” in ESG

“In a recent paper, we argue that amidst the enthusiasm about ESG, a critical parameter has gone virtually unnoticed: corporate tax behavior. The payment of corporate taxes is a powerful indicator of how a company views its role in society and supports the communities in which it operates and the stakeholders with whom it engages.” [COMMENTARY] This is the first time I’ve seen a coherent argument…

[ethicsustinvest]

How consultants have taken over sustainability reporting – and not for the better

“Companies are hiring external consultants to help report on ESG, but there aren’t enough checks to guard against greenwash.” [COMMENTARY] I suggest the best ESG consultants form an industry standards group so that companies can rely on their advice. For now, investors and companies need to be somewhat wary of external consultants and their reports from jurisdictions that don’t require ‘external…

[ethicsustinvest]

Active or Passive? Seeking Solutions to ESG Confusion

“Investors with an environmental, social and governance (ESG) focus are increasingly leaning toward passive portfolios, which may seem to offer the simplicity they crave in a complex market landscape. But the path to passive is fraught with risks, particularly when it comes to sustainable strategies.” [COMMENTARY] Passive portfolios — where the portfolio manager largely follows a stock or bond…

[ethicsustinvest]

CEOs Invest Less in Corporate Social Responsibility When Their Own Money Is At Stake

“In a new paper written with Ing-Haw Cheng of the University of Toronto and Harrison Hong of Columbia University and NBER, Shue shows that when corporate do-gooding starts to affect the managers’ own personal income, or their standing with shareholders, their CSR efforts slow down considerably.” [COMMENTARY] This article describes a study that shows when CEOs’ financial incentives do not…

[ethicsustinvest]

Catalyzing Sustainable Investment: Revealing ESG Power in Predicting Fund Performance with Machine Learning

“Our findings substantiate the positive correlation between ESG ratings and fund performance. In fact, our investigation identifies ESG score as one of the dominant variables, ranking among the top five with the highest predictive capacity for mutual fund performance.” By Alexandre Momparler, Pedro Carmona and Francisco Climent. May 2024, Computational Economics.  

[ethicsustinvest]

Podcast: Best Ethical, ESG Stocks, for 2024

Best Ethical, ESG Stocks, for 2024. Covers stocks from AI, to tech, to healthcare, renewable energy, healthcare, and many more. Ron Robins, MBA Transcript & Links, Episode 129, May 3, 2024 Hello, Ron Robins here. So, welcome to this podcast episode 129 titled “Best Ethical, ESG Stocks, for 2024.” It’s presented by Investing for the Soul. Investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global…

[ethicsustinvest]

FDIC bid to strip BlackRock and Vanguard of superpower 'has legs' and reckoning may start with curbs on self-certification of passive index funds

“The bank deposit insurer could make the $17-trillion ETF power bloc lose the ability to self-certify as ‘passive’ funds because their sheer scale could make them an active menace to the banking regulator, at least in this political climate.” [COMMENTARY] Anyone with US passive fund investments might want to watch the developments in this space! FDIC bid to strip BlackRock and Vanguard of…

[ethicsustinvest]

April 2024 Newsletter

News & Commentaries by Ron Robins ————————————————————- New Podcasts:  Best ESG ETFs, Carbon Capture Stocks, More…. And, Top Climate-Smart Stocks ————————————————————-. FDIC bid to strip BlackRock and Vanguard of superpower ‘has legs’ and reckoning may start with curbs on self-certification of passive index funds. “The bank deposit insurer could make the $17-trillion ETF power bloc lose the…

[ethicsustinvest]

FDIC bid to strip BlackRock and Vanguard of superpower 'has legs' and reckoning may start with curbs on self-certification of passive index funds

“The bank deposit insurer could make the $17-trillion ETF power bloc lose the ability to self-certify as ‘passive’ funds because their sheer scale could make them an active menace to the banking regulator, at least in this political climate.” [COMMENTARY] Anyone with US passive fund investments might want to watch the developments in this space! FDIC bid to strip BlackRock and Vanguard of…

[ethicsustinvest]

How important is the G in ESG? Latest sustainable investment analysis from Robeco

“Robeco have reminded us that governance can seem neglected compared with the E and S in ESG, although it is actually everywhere and a necessary foundation for sustainable investment (SI) strategies.” [COMMENTARY] Surely, governance is primary when it comes to running a company. The ‘E’ and ‘S’ in ESG are dependent upon the governance policies of a company. It’s good that Robeco reminds us of…

[ethicsustinvest]

Quantifying the Returns of ESG Investing: An Empirical Analysis with Six ESG Metrics

Quantifying the Returns of ESG Investing: An Empirical Analysis with Six ESG Metrics. “ We find that aggregating individual ESG ratings improves portfolio performance. In addition, we find that a portfolio based on Treynor-Black weights further improves the performance of ESG portfolios.” By Florian Berg, Andrew W. Lo, Roberto Rigobon, Manish Singh. All are associated with the Massachusetts…

[ethicsustinvest]

Podcast: Best ESG ETFs, Carbon Capture Stocks, More…

Best ESG ETFs, Carbon Capture Stocks, More… Includes SRI ETFs, sustainable carbon capture stocks, analysis on Enphase or Plug Power? Ron Robins, MBA Transcript & Links, Episode 128, April 19, 2024 Hello, Ron Robins here. So, welcome to this podcast episode 128 titled “Best ESG ETFs, Carbon Capture Stocks, More…” It’s presented by Investing for the Soul. Investingforthesoul.com is your site for…

[ethicsustinvest]

ESG in 2024: Traps for the Unwary

“ESG continues to be a hot topic for 2024 for investors and regulators alike. The specific concerns investors and regulators have – and what they expect to develop over the coming months – differ, however, across jurisdictions, including because of the different maturity of existing regulation between the EU/UK and the US.” [COMMENTARY] This is another good article explaining the landscape for…

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Renewable energy projects can cost more than fossil fuels: DBS’ Piyush

“THE energy-transition journey in South-east Asia is hampered by the high costs involved in developing renewable-energy power plants, which can be ‘substantially higher’ than fossil fuel-based ones, said DBS chief executive officer Piyush Gupta on Monday. The high costs of production come partly from the lower levels of solar efficiency in the equatorial region, which is where most of South-east…

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Europe stands firm against US-driven ESG backlash

“Europe has so far largely resisted the anti-ESG tide, due to greater political and consumer support for greener products and a swathe of regulations that underpin the operations of the finance industry and companies in the real economy.” [COMMENTARY] One explanation as to the difference between Europe and the USA concerning the anti-ESG sentiment could be that oil and gas production is a smaller…

[ethicsustinvest]

What drives sustainable investing? Adoption determinants of sustainable investing exchange-traded funds in Europe

What drives sustainable investing? Adoption determinants of sustainable investing exchange-traded funds in Europe. “Our results confirm the positive effects of the development of insurance companies and pension funds for the assets of the ESG ETFs.” By Adam Marszkand and Ewa Lechman. Both are associated with Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, Gdańsk 80-233, Poland. Structural…

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Walk well and talk well: Impact of the consistency of ESG performance and disclosure on firms’ stock price crash risk

Walk well and talk well: Impact of the consistency of ESG performance and disclosure on firms’ stock price crash risk. “ESG consistency contributes to lower stock price crash risk through the mechanisms of alleviating agency problems and increasing information transparency.” By Jun Huang, Yun Li, and Feifei Han. Authors affiliated with Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China. International…