Podcasts about robecosam

Robeco gaat in zijn merkstrategie opereren als één merk. Dat betekent dat dochterbedrijf RobecoSAM, dat al jarenlang wordt gezien als een expert op het gebied van verduurzaming, in zijn branding niet meer apart gepositioneerd wordt. 'Het zal geen corporate brand meer zijn, maar een "ingrediënt brand", zoals bijvoorbeeld Intel inside dat bij chipmaker Intel is.' Dat vertelt Karin van Baardwijk, COO van Robeco, in deze podcast.

Who are the US budget's renewable energy stock and ETF winners and losers? Using MSCI and proprietary methodologies Investor’s Business Daily creates its best 50 ESG companies ranking. New PIMCO ESG money market fund. Innovative and only Catholic long/short mutual fund. New ethical and sustainable robo advisors. My 1-hour investor tutorial reduced in price! More PODCAST: US Budget’s Renewable Energy Winners. And More… Transcript & Links, Episode 21, December 20, 2019 Content: (1) US Budget’s Renewable Energy Winners. And More… (2) US Budget’s Renewable Energy Winners. And More… (3) 7 Apps for Socially Responsible Investing (4) Conflicting ESG Ratings Are Confusing Sustainable Investors (5) 50 Best ESG Companies: A List Of Today's Top Stocks For Environmental, Social And Governance Values (6) PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ESG ETF (7) Catholic Investor Long/Short Equity Fund ------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to podcast episode 21 titled “US Budget’s Renewable Energy Winners. And More…” for December 20, 2019—presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources. ------------------------------------------------------------- Special Holiday Offer: 50% Off My On-of-a-Kind Investor Educational Tutorial! Now, as I mentioned in my last podcast, I have a terrific holiday offer for you! It’s 50% off the price of my one-of-a-kind investor educational tutorial for all, my DIY Ethical Sustainable Investing Pays tutorial! Learn in 1-hour how to create an ethical-sustainable investment portfolio with ultra-low costs! No financial knowledge needed. Money-back guarantee. The tutorial is reduced temporarily from US$49.95 to just US$24.95 as a special for the holidays. Take advantage of it now by going to my site investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and click the link half-way down the right-hand column. Enroll now while the price lasts! ------------------------------------------------------------- Now to this episode. Remember that you can find a full transcript, live links to content, and often bonus material to these podcasts at their episodes’ podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts. And, Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you. ------------------------------------------------------------- (1) US Budget’s Renewable Energy Winners. And More… First, a note about the recent US budget and its renewable energy winners and losers. It provides for another year the continuation of tax credits for wind power but not for solar. It certainly isn’t positive for US-based solar power companies. However, from a global perspective – and even for the US – solar power will continue to make headway. Writing about how the new US budget affects renewable energy producers is Maxx Chatsko of the Motley Fool. He says in an article titled 2 Renewable Energy Winners and 2 Losers in the Latest Federal Budget that “The production tax credit extension could provide a lift to power generators and electric utilities such as Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL), which has 2,022 megawatts of wind power capacity coming on line in 2020 and 2021.” End quote. A second winner of the budget deal Mr. Chatsko feels is the Renewable Energy Group (NASDAQ:REGI). He writes that “[It’s] the nation's largest biodiesel producer… The business estimates that it will receive a $450 million windfall from renewable fuel production from the start of 2018 through the third quarter of 2019. If production volumes continue to increase in the near future, then the three-year extension could result in an additional $1 billion in total tax credits for the company.” End quote. Mr. Chatsko says the losers from the budget are small-scale solar power companies like SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG) and electric vehicle producers such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and General Motors (NYSE:GM). For more details read his article. ------------------------------------------------------------- (2) US Budget’s Renewable Energy Winners. And More… Also, in light of the US budget deal, consider what Ben Hernandez says about three alternative power ETFs in an article titled, Investors Shouldn’t Forget to Power Portfolios with Alternative Energy. He writes that, quote, “One ETF to look at is the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (NYSEArca: LIT)... [it’s] nearly nine years old [and] tracks the Solactive Global Lithium Index… One of the oldest thematic ETFs, Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF is designed to provide exposure to ‘the full lithium cycle, from mining and refining the metal, through battery production,’ according to Global X.” End quote. The second ETF Mr. Hernandez suggests tracks global wind power companies. He states that “Investors who want to capitalize on increasing reliance on wind as an alternative energy resource… can look at the First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (NYSEArca: FAN). The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the ISE Clean Edge Global Wind EnergyTM Index… [Which] provides a benchmark for investors interested in tracking public companies throughout the world that are active in the wind energy industry.” End quote. Then for a third choice, he writes that “For investors looking for more broad-based exposure to alternative energy can give the SPDR Kensho Clean Power ETF (NYSEArca: CNRG) a look. [It] seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the total return performance of the S&P Kensho Clean Power Index, which is designed to capture companies whose products and services are driving innovation behind clean power.” End quote. ------------------------------------------------------------- (3) 7 Apps for Socially Responsible Investing Continuing on the subject of ethical and sustainable investing robo advisers from previous episodes, Barbara Friedberg wrote on the US News site her latest recommendations. They’re in a post titled 7 Apps for Socially Responsible Investing. Her top apps are M1 Finance, Axos Invest, Ellevest, OpenInvest, SoFi Invest, Personal Capital, and Betterment. These include several she hadn’t mentioned before, which are Axos, Ellevest, OpenInvest, SoFi Invest, and Personal Capital. Go to her article to see her reviews. ------------------------------------------------------------- (4) Conflicting ESG Ratings Are Confusing Sustainable Investors Now, for many of you who do your own company research, you probably wonder if the ESG scores you see are similar among the top ESG ratings’ firms. Well, a study by MIT Sloan School of Management says only rarely! The study was discussed in a Bloomberg piece by Jacqueline Poh, titled Conflicting ESG Ratings Are Confusing Sustainable Investors. The research included company ESG raters: Asset4, KLD, RobecoSAM, Sustainalytics, and Vigeo-Eiris. However, another major rater, MSCI, was not included. ------------------------------------------------------------- (5) 50 Best ESG Companies: A List Of Today's Top Stocks For Environmental, Social And Governance Values I just mentioned that MSCI’s company ESG ratings were missing from the MIT study. However, coincidentally, the US publication Investor’s Business Daily has recently published an article titled 50 Best ESG Companies: A List Of Today's Top Stocks For Environmental, Social And Governance Values – based on MSCI data. Investor’s Business Daily – or IBD – also has its own ratings that are applied to the MSCI scores. To understand IBD’s ratings go to Scott Lehtonen’s post titled How To Find And Buy The Top ESG Stocks In The Current Stock Market Rally on the IBD site. (The above links don’t work directly. Copy and paste these urls to your browser.) https://www.investors.com/research/how-to-find-and-buy-the-top-esg-stocks-in-the-current-stock-market-rally/ https://www.investors.com/research/best-esg-companies-top-stocks-environmental-social-governance-values/ ------------------------------------------------------------- (6) PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ESG ETF Now, do you need to park some cash in a money market fund but would prefer one that’s ESG based? Well, the following fund might be for you. PIMCO, a leading US bond firm, has recently launched a new type of money market fund. It’s called PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ESG ETF (NYSEArca: EMNT). Writing in ETFdb.com, in a post titled PIMCO Releases Active ESG ETF ‘EMNT’ Aaron Neuwirth says it “aims to offer higher income than traditional cash investments, with a modest increase in risk and focuses on issuers with high quality environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.” End quote. ------------------------------------------------------------- (7) Catholic Investor Long/Short Equity Fund Finally, an innovative religious-values fund that’s really breaking new ground! It’s the Catholic Investor Long/Short Equity Fund. Quoting from a press release, “The Catholic Investor Long/Short Equity Fund is the only Catholic long/short mutual fund in the world, aimed at satisfying the needs of investors who appreciate ethical values-based investing. The Fund adheres to the investing principles outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).” End quote. Note though, that as a mutual fund, it’s probably only available to US investors. Don’t forget you can Google any terms that might be unfamiliar to you. ------------------------------------------------------------- Well, these are my top news stories and tips for ethical and sustainable investors over the past two weeks. Again, to get all the links or to read the transcript of this podcast and sometimes get additional information too, please go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this episode. And be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in iTunes/Apple Podcasts or wherever you download or listen to this podcast. Also, please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. That way you can help promote not only this podcast but ethical and sustainable investing globally. So, let’s help create a better world with our investments! Contact me if you have any questions. ------------------------------------------------------------- Special Holiday Offer: 50% Off My On-of-a-Kind Investor Educational Tutorial! And again, don’t miss out on my terrific holiday offer for you! 50% off the price of the one-of-a-kind investor educational tutorial for all, my DIY Ethical Sustainable Investing Pays tutorial! Temporarily reduced from US$49.95 to just US$24.95! Go now to my site investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and click the link half-way down the right-hand column. ------------------------------------------------------------- Talk to you again on January 3. Wishing you a most wonderful joyous and healthy holiday and happy New Year. Bye for now. Thank you for listening. © 2019 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.

Joe Cass hosted Richard Lacaille, Global CIO of State Street Global Advisors, and S&P Global Ratings Head of Credit Ratings, Methodologies and Research Yann Le Pallec on the latest episode of Fixed Income in 15. Top of mind was global monetary policy levers, how State Street factor ESG into their investment process and S&P Global's acquisition of the ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM. Discussion moved to credit ratings in China, skiing destination recommendations and Rick's experience of becoming Global CIO at State Street in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis.

Some of the best food funds and water stocks. Tim Nash analyzes whether Apple is superior to Samsung in manufacturing sustainability and investment returns. Another two reviews of the top ESG and climate ETFs and solar stocks. Concerned about gun stocks in your funds? Zacks analyst Nitish Marwah has found three funds without them. More PODCAST: Best Food Funds, Water Stocks, and Much More! Transcript & Links October 25, 2019 Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for October 25, 2019—presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources. And, Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you. Also, you can find a full transcript, live links to content, and often bonus material to these podcasts at their episodes’ podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts. Now to this podcast! ------------------------------------------------------------- Best Food Funds Now we’re all concerned about our own health and that of the environment, and so many of us wonder what are the best food funds and water-related investments. Well, regarding sustainable food, Maria Lettini, writes about three of the best food funds in an article titled, Three funds tapping into sustainable food trends that appear on the Portfolio Advisor site. By the way, Maria Lettini is executive director of the Fairr Initiative, a well regarded global investor network raising awareness of ESG risks and opportunities around intensive livestock production. So, she what the best food funds are! The first fund she writes about is RobecoSAM’s Sustainable Food Equities fund (ROBAGED: LX). She says, that, “This fund invests in potential solutions to the major environmental and social challenges facing the food sector.” End quote. The second fund is Pictet’s Nutrition fund (PFAGRIR: LX). In describing the fund, Ms. Lettini remarks that “This fund invests in companies that are developing solutions to help secure the world’s food supply.” End quote. The third fund, BNP Paribas’ Smart Food fund (PASMFPR: LX). Commenting on this fund, she says, that, “This fund invests in food companies that conduct a significant proportion of their business in the food supply chain and meet sustainability criteria related to issues such as carbon emissions and nutritional content.” End quote. Incidentally, investment in these funds may not be available for purchase in some countries. Also, for a good overview of plant-based protein food manufacturers, David Yaffe-Bellany has written an excellent article in The New York Times, titled, The New Makers of Plant-Based Meat? Big Meat Companies. Companies reviewed include Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), Smithfield Foods, Perdue Farms, Hormel (NYSE: HRL) and Nestlé (OTC: NSRGY). ------------------------------------------------------------- Regarding companies engaged in sustainable water resources, Olivia Raimonde, writing for CNBC in a post titled, Money from socially responsible investors flows into US water stocks, discusses her three top related stocks. The first stock she covers is Aqua America (WTR: NYSE) which she says is “up about 33% in 2019”. Though she doesn’t say much more than that about the company. Her second stock is American States Water Co. (AWR: NYSE), She writes about it saying that “If an environmentally-minded fund genuinely wanted to invest based on water scarcity… [then this] is the most sensible investment as the company is based in California, which has been stricken by drought for years.” She adds that its stock price is, “up about 38% percent in 2019.” Ms. Raimonde's last stock pick is American Water Works (AWK: NYSE) which she says, “has always operated with sustainability principles in mind (and) performs slightly better than its peers in ESG ratings… The New Jersey-based company implemented a more comprehensive ESG strategy about two and a half years ago… Its stock is up about 35% in 2019.” End quote. ------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, when you look down on your smartphone do you ever wonder if it was manufactured sustainably and whether the company making them is a good ethical investment? Well, Tim Nash in his frequent stock showdown column on Corporate Knights compares Apple (NASDAQ: APPL) and Samsung’s (OTC: SSNLF) phone manufacturing – and how these companies’ rate overall on their sustainability and stock price performance. Comparing the companies, Mr. Nash states that, “Sustainability-wise, while Samsung may have been ahead of the curve ten years ago, it’s starting to fall behind on a few fronts. Meanwhile, Apple still has more to do, but it’s been more aggressive about some of its environmental goals.  I would consider the companies tied for now but it won’t be long before Apple takes the lead if it continues on the current trajectory. From a financial perspective, it’s a bit of a toss-up. Both companies have performed well over the past five years with more potential growth as new innovations emerge that keep consumers lining up for product launches.” End quote. ------------------------------------------------------------- ESG ETFs are hot and I’m going to reference two new articles that each recommend seven ESG ETFs. Now, I don’t have time to quote these articles on each of their recommended funds, so for the links to these articles and fund ticker symbols, go to this podcast page at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this edition. The first article is titled, 7 ESG ETFs to Buy for Responsible Profits by Will Ashworth on the Kiplinger investment site. Mr. Ashworth suggests, Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: USSG), Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF (VSGX: US), iShares ESG MSCI EM ETF (NASDAQ: ESGE), Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (BATS: NUSC), Impact Shares YWCA Women's Empowerment ETF (NYSEARCA: WOMN), Columbia Sustainable International Equity Income ETF (NYSEARCA: ESGN), and iShares ESG U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA: EAGG). The second article, titled, 7 Great ETFs to Invest in Climate Change, is by Jeff Reeves at USA Today. His recommendations are: Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (NYSEARCA: PBW), iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (NASDAQGS: ICLN), Invesco Solar ETF (NYSEARCA: TAN), First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy Index Fund (NYSEARCA: FAN), Invesco Cleantech ETF (NYSEARCA: PZD), SPDR MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (NYSEARCA: LOWC), and finally the Invesco Water Resources ETF (NASDAQGS: PHO). ------------------------------------------------------------- I’ve covered many analysts in past podcast episodes who’ve recommended solar stocks. So, I was hesitant to include more solar stocks this time. However, when I saw the stocks referred to by Larry Ramer in an article titled, 3 Solar Stocks to Buy for a New Day in Solar Energy on the Investorplace site, I see he added two new companies not previously covered in these podcasts. They are JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS) and Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ). On JinkoSolar, Mr. Ramer writes that “As of the end of the second quarter, the holders of JKS stock include… Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and UBS (NYSE: UBS).” End quote. Thus, inferring that with such large institutions believing in the company – that you might want to too. And on Daqo New Energy, he comments that “Like JinkoSolar, Daqo New Energy is likely to benefit from the relative cheapness of solar energy in China… [and]… As of June, many Wall Street heavyweights held meaningful amounts of DQ stock.” End quote. His third pick is Sunpower (NASDAQ: SPWR) – which has been recommended by analysts in many of my past episodes. Mr. Ramer says, “SunPower stock should benefit from four strong trends that are boosting solar energy in the U.S.” End quote. Mr. Ramer’s final comment is that “all three names are very cheap.” End quote. ------------------------------------------------------------- With all the concerns around gun violence in many countries, some ethical and sustainable investors would like to invest in funds that don’t have gun-related stocks in them. However, to find such funds is an arduous endeavor. Making it simple for you is Nitish Marwah in a Zack’s article titled, 3 Weapon-Free Funds Socially Responsible Investors Can Buy. The first fund Mr. Marwah writes about is the Parnassus Core Equity Fund Investor Shares (PRBLX). Commenting on this fund he says, that “PRBLX invests in large-cap companies which have long-term competitive advantage and positive performance on ESG criteria… PRBLX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and has an annual expense ratio of 0.87%. The fund has three and five-year returns of 13.5% and 10.8%, respectively.” End quote. His next fund is the Green Century Balanced Fund (GCBLX). Quoting him, he says that, it “seeks appreciation of both capital and income by investing in a diverse portfolio of stocks and bonds which meet standards for corporate environmental responsibility set by Green Century… GCBLX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2 and has an annual expense ratio of 1.48%. The fund has three and five-year returns of 8.9% and 6.8%, respectively.” End Quote. His third and final fund is the Parnassus Fund (PARNX) which Mr. Marwah says, “seeks appreciation of capital by investing in undervalued stocks… The fund invests in companies of any size across different market capitalizations. [and] carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of [1] and has an annual expense ratio of 0.85%. The fund has three and five-year returns of 10.6% and 9.5%, respectively.” ------------------------------------------------------------- So, these are my top news stories and tips for ethical and sustainable investors over the past two weeks. Again, to get all the links or to read the transcript of this podcast and sometimes get additional information too, please go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this episode. And be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in iTunes/Apple Podcasts or wherever you download or listen to this podcast and please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. That way you can help promote not only this podcast but ethical and sustainable investing globally and help create a better world for us all. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the content of this podcast or anything else related. Now, a big thank you for listening. Come again! And my next podcast is scheduled for November 8. See you then. Bye for now. © 2019 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.  

New S&P ESG 500 products will promote sustainable investing and offer needed diversification for most ethical investors. Sustainable assets leap 34% to $30.7 trillion in 2 years globally. Green bond awards help ethical and sustainable investors find green fixed income products. Ethical investors avoid Lyft IPO and suspicious of social media companies with regulatory issues. Transcript & Links April 12, 2019 Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! Presented by Investing for the Soul, April 12, 2019. Now again, if any terms are unfamiliar to you, simply Google them! Also, you can find a full transcript, live links and sometimes bonus material at my podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts News Now for the exciting news to profit by for ethical and sustainable investors! The first item I want to talk about is that with all the news concerning Facebook and Google regarding the regulatory pressures they’re facing around the world, it means that somehow, investors have to take into account the potential for severe disruption in their business models and possible negative impacts on their profitability and stock prices. So this post, titled, A regulatory lens when assessing ESG risks, by Sudhir Roc-Sennet, of Vontobel Asset Management, writing in Investment Europe, is truly pertinent. Sudhir says that and I quote, "Internally we look at sustainability through an ESG-R lens, which includes regulation alongside environmental, social and governance factors. Many of our investment companies have held leading industry positions and, as a result, regulation is one of the greatest risks they face." Close quote. You might be aware that your ESG portfolio is probably top heavy with tech and social media companies. So, a review of your holdings in light of regulatory risk might be warranted. Financial stocks too are often overweighted in our ESG portfolios. So, come the next recession – which two-thirds of American economists predict in the next two years – financial stocks could again become the subject of significant regulatory and financial risk. So be careful about overweighting in sectors that have potential regulatory risks. ------------------------------------------------------------- This next piece of news excites me. It’s title, S&P unveils ESG version of 'iconic' 500 index, by Chris Sloley at CityWire Selector. I quote, "S&P Dow Jones Indices has launched an ESG-centric version of its long-running S&P 500 index as part of plans to launch a wider family of responsibility-focused indices... The index has been developed to serve not only as a performance tracking tool but also as a building block for creating new ESG index-based investment products such as ETFs." Close quote. This is exciting news for ethical and sustainable investors. The S&P 500 index and financial products based on it, are among the most popular financial products to have ever been conceived. RobecoSAM will be creating the index. They also are responsible for the FTSE4Good index. I believe many large financial institutions and pension funds have been awaiting this development to make even greater investments in ESG related investment vehicles. For yourself as well, financial products arising from this could help resolve the problem I just mentioned. That is, not being overly invested in one market segment such as tech or social media. An S&P 500 ESG product will likely be quite diversified. However, I do say that though the components of this new index will be screened for ESG characteristics – you will inevitably be investing in some industries you don’t like. Thus, if this is a concern for you, take my quick and easy DIY Ethical-Sustainable Investing Pays Tutorial to learn how to create a diversified portfolio that truly reflects your values. ------------------------------------------------------------- Now the following is information that many of you will want to know about! What are the best green bonds around! Environmental Finance in London assembled a team of 24 top green bond experts to come up with the… Winners of Environmental Finance Bond Awards for 2019. These awards aren't about which green bonds made investors the most money, but, rather, included characteristics such as quality, innovativeness, best practices, etc. Nonetheless, if you're wanting to invest in, or add to your present green bond holdings, you might find some ideas among the winning green bonds here. Don’t forget, go to my podcast page at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and go to this show date for links I’m mentioning today. ------------------------------------------------------------- Speaking about investing with your personal values, I know many ethical and sustainable investors wouldn’t touch oil fracking stocks. And a lot of it is because of the environmental costs posed by fracking. Unfortunately, as a Canadian report makes clear on David Suzuki’s site – the famed Canadian biologist-environmentalist – the impacts of fracking are still largely unknown and it’s the next generation who’ll feel these impacts! See the post, As fracking booms, report finds we know little about impacts. ------------------------------------------------------------- Now some great news about the growth of sustainable investing. There are two posts I want to talk about. The first, Global Sustainable Investments Rise 34 Percent to $30.7 Trillion, by Emily Chasan, Bloomberg, and the second Greenwashing purge sees sustainable funds lose share in Europe, by Siobhan Riding, of the Financial Times. Both stories reveal data from the same Global Sustainable Investment Alliance study released on April 1. On the one hand, we see a massive and continuing rise in sustainable investing globally. That’s terrific! However, on the other hand, in Europe, the actual rise in sustainable investment assets has been slower than the growth of the whole market. Now, Europe has for many years been the leader in sustainable assets under management, so it’s not a surprise to see it slowing down there. Here’s a quote from the latter article on this point, quote, “Holdings in sustainable funds made up 49 per cent of professionally managed assets in Europe at the start of 2018, compared with 53 per cent in 2016.” Close quote. So, why is it going down, again, quoting the same article, it says, “Sustainable investment funds have lost market share in Europe as a clampdown on greenwashing forces asset managers to reduce their assets in such strategies.” Close quote. And I say that’s a good thing! ------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, were you excited by Lyft’s IPO on March 29? Numerous ethical and sustainable investors weren’t. Why, because early evidence is that they’re putting more cars on the road and pulling people off public transit! Thus, adding to congestion. Also, people are tending to use these services instead of biking or walking. In short, Uber and Lyft seem to be adding to congestion, pollution, and a less healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, they are presently losing money on a grand scale. Annually, Lyft at around $900 million and Uber around $1.8 billion with little prospect of any profits from either of them soon! Lyft’s IPO stock price on March 29 was $72 and as of the time of recording this post, is in the $60 range. For a good read on them go to Environmental investors are calling Uber and Lyft's bluff when it comes to going green, by Ross Kerber & Heather Somerville of Reuters. ------------------------------------------------------------- Now, many of you listening to this podcast in the US have retirement savings accounts through your employer known as 401(k)s. But I bet you've wondered why there aren’t ethical/ESG options? Well, a recent survey by Natixis found that though, I quote, "61% of workers would increase their retirement savings if they could put their money in socially conscious investments… just 13% of workers have access to those kinds of impact investments." End quote. There appear to be several reasons why employers are reluctant to offer ethical/ESG investments in US 401(k) plans. Chief among them, according to the Natixis survey, is that employers don't feel it's right for them to "impose their morals on their employees’ investment choices." Personally, I think that answer is absurd since they're also offering many other options too, which when considered, are also 'moral choices!' In fact, I’d argue that every investment has a moral component! The second principal reason is due to the US Department of Labor making it clear that ESG couldn't be used as the main criteria for selecting investments. This, of course, reflects President's Trump's campaign to promote old and dirty industries – which usually score low on ESG measures. If you are in a situation where your employer isn’t offering the type of 401(k) investments you want to chat with your fellow employees, see how they feel too. If they’re with you, then go to your employer and make it known to them what you want in your investments. You might be surprised that they probably agree with you and just might take the actions necessary to get those ethical/ESG investment options you want! The information on this 401(k) situation is gleaned from an article titled, Workers want those hard-to-find socially responsible investments in their 401(k) plans: Survey, by Lorie Konish of CNBC. ------------------------------------------------------------- In my podcast of March 15, I discussed how some new ETFs were focusing on gender issues because more women in management seem to improve corporate financial performance. However, it seems that some of these funds don’t seriously advocate for women when it comes to stockholder resolutions concerning equal pay and pay equity disclosure, for instance. And that is rather odd. Therefore, if you invest in these funds and care about these issues, read the data gathered by Morningstar in the post Investing with equal pay in mind may be more difficult than you think, by Lorie Konish at CNBC. ------------------------------------------------------------- So, there we have it for this podcast! Again, to read the transcript and get all the links and additional information mentioned here, please go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and look for this edition. And remember, I’m here to help you grow in your investment success—and investing in opportunities that reflect your personal values! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this podcast or anything else investment related. A big thank you for listening—and please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. Come again! Bye for now! © 2019 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul. All rights reserved.

My podcasts are planned every two weeks beginning March 16, 2019. This edition -- actually published February 26 -- is to test and obtain feedback from listeners on all aspects of its content and production. However, this podcast also contains great content! Included is a full transcript and links to all news covered and more! Podcast notes November 23, 2018 For links to all the news I’m covering today, go to my Investing for the Soul homepage. If any terms are unfamiliar to you, a good source for their definition is INVESTOPEDIA and scroll down to the very bottom to see their A-Z dictionary News 1) Green finance: a contrarian take, by Thomas Hale, November 15, 2018, FT Advisor, UK. "Renaissance’s argument thereafter is that, even if emerging markets have far lower ESG scores, directing capital their way allows for the highest overall rate of improvement, and so the greatest ethical utility. This is, unsurprisingly, an argument for more investment in EM." Points: 1) The argument presented here by Renaissance Capital, a Russian investment bank, is equivalent to the idea of investing in companies who are just beginning to engage in ESG seriously so as to take advantage of their possible rapid stock price as they're identified as a potential 'high' ESG company. As it's recognized by many investors that high ESG scoring companies also now have a premium to their stock prices. 2) Renaissance produces a wonderful graph showing how high GDP per capita is highly correlated to high ESG country scores. 3) Another quote, “As a side note, the report finds ‘virtually zero correlation’ between ESG scores and sovereign bond pricing after adjusting for per capita GDP.) Again, the argument here is that going for up and coming ESG performers in emerging countries could be a great bet for stock or bond outperformance. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From upstream to mainstream: ESG at a tipping point, November 15, 2018, by IN Research and Calvert, Investment News, USA. "In a year's time, the percentage of Millennials expressing a high level of interest in ESG investing jumped from 26% to 35%, advisers say, while the percentage of Gen Xers embracing ESG spiked from 16% to 25%. This is more than a generational story, however... Twenty-six percent of ultra-high-net-worth investors now show a high level of interest in ESG investing, advisers say, up from only 10% in 2017. Similarly, interest among very-high net worth investors shot from 13% to 19% in a year's time." Points: 1) These results are from a US survey of 300 advisors. The jump in numbers over just one-year is impressive. Demonstrates just how fast ESG is being accepted. 2) Somewhat interesting is that its regular advisors reporting the rapid growth. Generally, advisors have been ‘behind the curve’ regarding their positivity concerning sustainable, ESG and ethical investing. Now many are hurrying to get familiar with it! 3) Calvert, a well-known and respected ethical investing mutual fund manager was involved too. Not sure if this fact had a relevance to the conduct and results of the survey. Knowing Calvert, probably not. 4) You can download the full report here. ------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Are ESG Ratings the New Credit Rating for Stock Prices? By Ginger Szala, November 19, 2018, ThinkAdvisor, USA. "A new MSCI study of ESG ratings finds they have a similar impact on share prices as do credit ratings." Points: 1) Though to me the findings are unsurprising, it is the first study to demonstrate that ESG ratings have a similar impact to credit ratings on a company's stock price. This finding will no doubt be challenged, but comes at a time when investors everywhere are looking at the inclusion of ESG criteria in their investment research. It bodes well for the mainstreaming of ESG! 2) Many credit ratings’ agencies such as S&P, Moody’s and Fitch have long been criticized for potential significant conflicts of interest and bias. They take clients’ funds to provide new issue ratings and have historically slow to act to in changing their ratings, particularly negatively, to new circumstances! So, since ESG ratings’ companies like Sustainalytics, MSCI, RobecoSAM, etc., don’t take funds for their corporate ratings—as far as I know—they may well be even a greater indicator of corporate ‘safety’ than the credit ratings’ agencies! 3) You can download the MSCI study here. ------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Companies Leading on Disability Inclusion Outperform Peers, by Megan Amrich, November 20, 2018, TriplePundit, USA. "Accenture, in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), has released 'Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage.' This report looks at both the disability practices and financial performance of 140 companies over the past four years... Companies that 'embrace best practices for employing and supporting more people with disabilities in their workforces' are several times more likely to outperform their peers financially." Points: 1) This is a pioneering and worthy study. It might also be true that employees with disabilities feel they have to prove themselves and so are more productive. Hence, forward-looking companies know this and so increasingly employ individuals with disabilities? Thus, such employment is not always out of charity. 2) One has to wonder too, however, is that highly profitable companies feel they are able to hire more persons with disability because of the high profits? 3) Are such companies also aiming to create even higher reputation in the communities they serve? Subject:  What are the best ESG-Sustainable-Ethical indices? The range of indices is immense today. When I began to follow these around 2001, there were a handful globally, and mostly unknown. Today, it’s extraordinary the number of them and what they cover. The idea of these indices are that they can act as benchmarks for you to assess your own performance. Furthermore, there are numerous mutual funds and ETFs that you can be purchased that are based on them. For a good listing of them go to my page, Ethical Investing Stock and Bond Indices. Here are my favourites though. Equities Dow Jones Sustainability Index One of the oldest index families and an ethical investor’s favourite. “The family was launched in 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmark and tracks the stock performance of the world's leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria.” The DJSI data is compiled and analyzed by the Swiss organization RobecoSAM. They review some 10,000 companies!” Fossil Free Indexes(Global) "The Fossil Free Indexes are a suite of benchmarks designed for investable products that provide broad market exposure to index investors who wish to divest from fossil fuel companies. These investors are typically motivated either by a concern about unacceptable levels of climate change or by a concern about overvaluation and risk in the sector." These indices are capitalization weighted, meaning that larger companies have a bigger influence in the index; smaller companies a smaller weight. FTSE4Good Index Series and FTSE Smart Sustainability Index Series(Global) "The FTSE4Good Index Series is designed to measure the performance of companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. Transparent management and clearly-defined ESG criteria make FTSE4Good indices suitable tools to be used by a wide variety of market participants when creating or assessing responsible investment products." FTSE Russell Green Revenues Index Series(Global) "FTSE Russell’s Green Revenues (LCE) data model and Green Revenues Index Series track companies that generate green revenues – a critical component missing from current sustainability models. Now, investors can accurately identify and support their investment in companies that stand to benefit from the world’s transition to a green economy with consistent, transparent data and indexes." I really like the concept of this index with it’s scoring based on green revenues! That means industries such as tobacco, won’t score highly, whereas in other ESG-sustainable-ethical indices, they could! MSCI ESG Indices(Global) "With 40 years of expertise in index construction and maintenance, MSCI aims to set new standards for ESG indices – allowing clients to more effectively benchmark ESG investment performance, issue index-based ESG investment products, as well as to manage, measure and report on their compliance with ESG mandates." NASDAQ Green Economy Indices What I like about these are that there’re separate indices for various types of alternative energy sectors, such as solar and wind plus indices focusing on water services and products. (Global) "NASDAQ OMX offers a complete family of indexes tracking the growing environmental and clean-energy sector, also known as the 'Green Economy.' Green Economy is the shift of economic development towards sustainable practices in business and infrastructure..." S&P Dow Jones ESG Indices They truly offer something for almost any sustainable-ethically oriented investor! Canada—Equities Jantzi Social Index(JSI) I’ve known Michael Jantzi, whose firm established this index, since the 1990s. He is head of and founded, Sustainalytics, one of the world’s leading ESG ratings’ agencies. (Canada) "In January 2000, Jantzi Research launched the Jantzi Social Index®, partnered with Dow Jones Indexes. The JSI, a socially screened, market capitalization-weighted common stock index modeled on the S&P/TSX 60 consists of 60 Canadian companies that pass a set of broadly based environmental, social, and governance rating criteria. The JSI has begun to generate the first definitive data on the effects of social screening on financial performance in Canada." Bonds S&P ESG Sovereign Bond index family “The S&P ESG Sovereign Bond Index family offers investors exposure to the same sovereign bonds as standard cap-weighted sovereign bond indices but tilts the country weights towards more sustainable countries, based on RobecoSAM’s” © 2019 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul. All rights reserved.

In this first episode of the new Robeco podcast, Sam Shaw is joined by Daniel Wild, co-CEO of RobecoSAM on the current trends in sustainable investing: 'Millennials want their investments to reflect their environmental and social beliefs'.

On episode 66 of The Ticker podcast: • Manjit Jus, head of sustainability application & operations, RobecoSAM on the increasing role of IR in ESG reporting • Jeffrey Goldberger, small cap IR specialist at KCSA Communications, on the impact of Trump on IR and regulation • Brooke Elliot, professor of accounting at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, on the benefits of a CEO tweet