Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By!

Analyst suggests three gun-free funds. Ten top renewable energy stocks with their ESG and analyst stock recommendations. ESG ETFs generally outperform 'conventional equivalents.' ESG dividend stocks. RBC Capital ideas for the best ESG stocks. Microsoft, Nike reviewed for sustainability, profits. Analyst says avoid buying WeWork stock IPO. He blasts its financial and governance performance. More

PODCAST: Gun Free Funds, Top ESG Stocks, WeWork, and more…

Transcript & Links August 30, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for August 30, 2019—presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources.

Investment ideas in these podcasts are generally gleaned from market participants in the US, Canadian, UK, European, Asian and Australasian financial markets.

And, Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you.

Also, you can find a full transcript, live links and often bonus material to these podcasts at their episodes' podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts.

Now to this podcast!

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With all the gun violence taking place in North America, it's leading many investors to scrutinize their holdings and wanting to be rid of gun-related stocks. Well, if you're really concerned Nitish Marwah has written an article, titled, 3 Weapon-Free Funds to Whet Your Ethical Investment Appetite. He screens outgun and related manufacturers from the Zacks Mutual Fund Ranking, and as a result, recommends:

First, The New Alternatives A Fund (Symbol: NALFX). Quoting Mr. Marweh, he says, "[the fund] invests in companies that contribute to a sustainable environment. NALFX has an annual expense ratio of 1.12%, which is below the category average of 1.30%. [And] the fund has three and five-year returns of 8.4% and 5.9%, respectively." End quote.

His second choice is the Calvert Global Water Fund (A) (Symbol: CFWAX). Again, quoting Mr. Marweh, "The fund normally invests the majority of its assets in equity securities of domestic as well as foreign companies from the water industries or are involved in water-related service and technologies… CFWAX has an annual expense ratio of 1.24%, which is below the category average of 1.37%. The fund has three and five-year returns of 6.5% and 2.5%, respectively." End quote.

Finally, his third pick is the Parnassus Core Equity Fund Investor Shares (Symbol: PRBLX). Mr. Marweh says about this fund, that, "the PRBLX invests in large-cap companies which have long-term competitive advantage and positive performance on ESG criteria… PRBLX has an annual expense ratio of 0.87%. The fund has three and five-year returns of 14% and 11.2%, respectively." End quote.

Of the three funds he recommends, clearly, the Parnassus stands out as a better and lower cost performer.

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My next item comes from Matthew DiLallo writing for the Motley Fool in an article titled, The 10 Biggest Renewable Energy Stocks, where he gives an overview of them.

(Incidentally, on this episodes' podcast page I'll have each company's Sustainalytics or CSRHub ESG rankings – if available – and average analyst buy, sell, or hold opinions from Yahoo! Finance.)

So, the first company is:

1) NextEra Energy (NEE: NYSE) the world's largest producer of wind and solar energy. (Rated average on ESG performance for its category and a buy average by analysts.)

2) Tesla (TSLA: NASDAQ) Mr. DiLlalo says is more than just an electric-car company. (Rated average in ESG for its category and a hold average by analysts.)

3) First Solar (FSLR: NASDAQ) focused on thin-film solar. (CSR Hub gives company high ESG marks. Yahoo! Finance shows a buy average by analysts.)

4) Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP-UN.TO) – a leader in hydropower. (Rated average in ESG for its category and a hold average by analysts.)

5) SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG: NASDAQ) optimizes renewable energy. (CSR Hub gives company low ESG marks. Yahoo! Finance shows a buy average by analysts.)

6) Enphase Energy (ENPH: NASDAQ) is a leader in microinverters that converts DC power from solar panels into AC. (CSR Hub gives company low ESG marks. Yahoo! Finance shows a buy average by analysts.)

7) Ormat Technologies (ORA: NYSE) a leader in geothermal power. (A buy/hold average by analysts.)

8) TerraForm Power (TERP: NASDAQ) is focused on wind and solar in North America and Western Europe. (A hold average by analysts.)

9) NextEra Energy Partners (NEP: NYSE) has a strategy to generate high-powered dividend growth. (A buy average by analysts.)

And, 10) Atlantica Yield (AY: NASDAQ) which has a diversified clean energy portfolio. (A buy average by analysts.)

Again, go to this episode's podcast page at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts for more detailed ESG and analyst opinion information.

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Now, are you also looking for ESG dividend stocks? If so, you could check out this post titled, Why PACCAR is a Top Socially Responsible Dividend Stock (PCAR: NASDAQ)) by BNK Invest appearing on Nasdaq.com.

At a recent price of around $64, its dividend yield was about 1.9%. However, though BNK Invest says PACCAR has great SRI credentials, Sustainalytics on the Yahoo! Finance site rate it as a moderate ESG performer in its category. Nonetheless, it's difficult to find a reasonably paying sustainable dividend stock so on that basis it might be ok for some investors to consider if investment income is a high priority.

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A top holding in ESG funds is Microsoft. The Motley Fool writer, Tim Beyers, reviewed Microsoft (MSFT: NASDAQ) as an ESG investment in his article titled, ESG Investing: Is Microsoft a Responsible Investment?

He concludes by saying that, "While Microsoft isn't perfect, a nine out of 10 on The Motley Fool's ESG Compounder Checklist is a sterling result. Should efforts to improve the company's diversity and inclusion practices continue to improve, it may not be long before we see Microsoft stick the landing alongside Accenture (NYSE: ACN), which scores a perfect 10. Keep this company on your ESG shortlist if you don't already own shares." End quote.

Microsoft is rated by Sustainalytics at Yahoo! Finance very high in its category average and has an average buy rating among analysts.

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Looking at another individual stock, Maria Gallagher, also writing in a Motley Fool post, reviews Nike (NKE: NYSE). Her post is titled, ESG Investing: Is Nike a Responsible Investment?

She says that, quote, "Nike scores an 8/10 on our ESG checklist. This is a company that has lofty goals and is intentionally striving to meet them, which we admire. We think it's a strong ESG company with some work to do in its treatment of employees, as well as diversity and inclusion, but Nike is headed in the right direction in both of these areas." End quote.

Sustainalytics at Yahoo! Finance rates Nike's ESG performance a little higher than average in its category. It's also given an average buy rating by analysts.

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Now, ESG ETFs are all the rage among ethical and sustainable investors so its good to come across George Geddes's excellent article titled Can ESG ETFs outperform? In it, he reviews ESG ETFs from around the world and how they compare with their non-ESG counterparts.

Globally he compares Deutsche Bank's Xtrackers ESG MSCI World UCITS ETF (XZW0: L) with its non-ESG version Xtrackers MSCI World UCITS ETF (XDWD. DE). He found the ESG version outperforming the 'regular' version and writes that "Since the inception of XZW0, it has outperformed its benchmark across a three-month, year-to-date and one-year time frames."

For the US, he says that "The Lyxor MSCI USA ESG Trend Leaders UCITS ETF (UESG) listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2018 with a management fee of 0.25%, matching that of its non-screened version the Lyxor MSCI USA UCITS ETF (USAU: L). Again, UESG's returns beat USAU's but with a smaller margin."

And for Europe, he writes that "Another ESG product launched by DWS [an arm of Deutsche Bank] was the Xtrackers ESG MSCI Europe UCITS ETF (XZEU: SW) which listed at the same time as its world exposed sibling. In just 15 months, the fund has pulled in over $1.7bn in assets. XZEU was an ESG version of the company's Xtrackers MSCI Europe UCITS ETF (XMEU: GE) which launched all the way back in September 2007… [the] XMEU has performed better than the ESG version."

These results generally appear to validate that ESG ETFs can produce returns as good – and sometimes even better – than their non ESG equivalents.

I hope all these terms didn't confuse you. Go to this episode's podcast page for the details.

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Next item. On the Kiplinger.com site, Harriet Lefton writes a post titled, 5 Top ESG Stocks on RBC Capital's 'Best Ideas' List. The companies are Salesforce.com, Nvidia, NextEra Energy (also referred to previously in this podcast), Microsoft (also referred to previously), and Gilead Sciences.

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Finally, a few points considering the upcoming WeWork IPO. Apparently, at least one writer is extremely critical of the company from both a financial and governance perspective. An article from GuruFocus.com that appeared on Yahoo! Finance, says the following about the company, "Unfortunately for those hoping to buy in on a growth opportunity, WeWork shows little sign of making good on its promised profitability." End quote.

But the real clincher, the writer says and can be seen in this quote from Stratechery, that, "The tech industry generally speaking is hardly a model for good corporate governance, but WeWork takes the absurdity [to] an entirely different level...Everything taken together hints at a completely unaccountable executive looting a company that is running as quickly as it can from massive losses that may very well be fatal whenever the next recession hits." End quote.

I don't yet know if any ESG ratings' firm has rated WeWork, but irrespective of its profit prospects, on governance issues alone it may have real problems.

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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 September 13. See you then. Bye for now.

© 2019 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.

Amazon dissed as a sustainability investment compared to eBay. Livent, Brookfield Asset Management, and Sunpower, as renewable stock investments suggested by analysts. US Vegan Climate Exchange Traded ETF appears to finally arrive. Not what it seems though. ESG overlay for corporate bonds enhances portfolio performance says J P Morgan study. Unique ESG Factor ETF. More

PODCAST: Amazon vs. eBay, First Vegan Fund, and more…

Transcript & Links August 16, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for August 16, 2019—presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources.

Investment ideas in these podcasts are generally gleaned from market participants in the US, Canadian, UK, European, Asian and Australasian investment markets.

And, Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you.

Also, you can find a full transcript, live links and often bonus material to these podcasts at their editions' podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts.

Now to this podcast!

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Tim Nash at Corporate Knights has another insightful Sustainable Stock Showdown. This time comparing Amazon (AMZN.OQ) vs. eBay (EBAY.OQ)! He begins his analysis with the following critical statement, saying that, "Amazon may be primed for growth but amidst worker protests, climate concerns and military links, is eBay a better bet?" End quote. Additionally, Mr. Nash writes about Amazon's poor sustainability record.

You probably know that Amazon is a top holding in many ESG and sustainable funds. But should it be, given the previously mentioned issues! Do you feel comfortable investing in Amazon when it is heavily criticized on such issues?

Writing about some of these concerns Mr. Nash says, again quoting him that, "A petition with 270,000 signatures was delivered to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos calling for better worker rights and for the company to cut ties with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency responsible for rounding up and deporting undocumented immigrants. Although these protests didn't amount to much action, they certainly shone a light on Amazon's many problems." End quote.

By contrast, on eBay, Mr. Nash writes that, and I quote, "eBay is the next largest online retail company and is a much better performer when it comes to sustainability metrics. With a focus on selling pre-owned products, about 16% of eBay's revenues are estimated as green…eBay publishes a detailed Impact Progress Report that charts its progress on sustainability goals such as growth of sellers in 'less-advantaged communities' and a 50% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2025." Close quote.

In summary, Mr. Nash concludes, that, "Sustainable investors will want to consider the financial trade-offs involved in walking away from a stock with Amazonian growth, but they'll sleep better at night owning eBay and knowing its carbon footprint won't swallow the planet at the click of a button." Close quote.

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Next item is about a unique new ESG ETF called the IQS ESG Global Equity Multi-Factor UCITS ETF – now that's a mouthful! We have this information from an article titled, Invesco launches multi-factor ETF with strict ESG criteria written by Gary Buxton in IFA Magazine.

Talking about his new ESG ETF, fund manager Gary Buxton, Head of EMEA ETFs at Invesco, says, 'Three of the biggest trends we have seen over the past decade are growing demand for multi-factor strategies, ESG investments and ETFs more generally. Proven expertise in all these areas has enabled us to respond to investor demand by delivering a multi-factor solution that adheres to strict ESG criteria and has all the benefits you would expect from our ETF structure.'" End quote.

Additionally, Mr. Buxton says, again quoting him, that, "Eligible stocks are screened for compliance with the fund's ESG Criteria, and then scored based on their attractiveness with respect to three investment factors: Quality, Value and Momentum." End quote.

Most ESG ETFs simply hold a group of stocks screened for only their ESG characteristics according to that ETFs objective – such as only renewable energy stocks, for instance. Whereas a multi-factor approach also includes further screens that might include the stocks perceived quality, value – say its relatively low price-earnings ratio, and momentum, that is the rate of acceleration of a stock's price or volume of trading.

Anyhow, it's a unique approach and it'll be interesting to see how well it works.

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Now, The Motley Fool ran a story that I thought I'd like to pass on. The story title is 3 Top Renewable Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now. There are three contributors, and each recommends one stock. sine qua non

The first contributor is Rich Smith who favours, Livent (LTHM.N), which is a major lithium producer. Though he admits the immediate future might be difficult for the company, he looks beyond that, saying, and I quote, "If you believe, as I do, that lithium is a SIN + AY + KWAA + NOHN for storing energy generated from renewable sources like wind and solar, it makes sense to believe that Livent – one of the top three players in lithium – will outlive its present difficulties, and become much more profitable as time goes by." End quote.

The second recommendation comes from John Bromels who likes Brookfield Asset Management (BAMa.TO). This is a Canadian asset manager that holds a diverse group of renewable power assets. Mr. Bromels says, and I quote, that, "About 75% of Brookfield's assets are in good-old, reliable hydroelectric power, which helps the company generate steady cash flow and pay a hefty distribution that currently yields 5.6%... [An] MLP ownership isn't for everyone, but if you're looking to add a renewable energy company to your portfolio, Brookfield Renewable Partners is about as solid a bet as you'll find in this sector." End quote. Now on this editions podcast page, I have a link to a good article describing MLPs for US investors. (See understanding MLPs.)

Finally, Travis Hoium suggests Sunpower (SPWR.OQ). Mr. Hoium likes Sunpower because he says, "Not only are high-efficiency solar panels improving in cost-effectiveness, SunPower is adding energy storage to more projects. One-third of its commercial solar power systems now include energy storage, and the company says it will introduce a residential solar solution later this year. These new products combined with improving market conditions in the residential solar industry may make SunPower one of the biggest winners in energy in 2019." End quote.

So, check them out and see what you think.

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For a few podcasts now, I've been writing about investments relating to veganism or vegetarianism. Well, finally it appears that the first vegan-friendly ETF called the US Vegan Climate Exchange Traded ETF (VGN ETF) is planned for listing on the NYSE on September 10. However, I would deem it quite controversial – even for vegans – as it's not what it might appear.

Garry White in The Telegraph newspaper in the UK writes that "The fund is not currently investing in vegan food producers, but aims to avoid companies whose activities directly contribute to animal exploitation or environmental damage… Its largest holdings will include companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and Mastercard. This means the ETF will look pretty similar to other, lower-cost alternatives… although Facebook is included in the vegan ETF because it meets its criteria, the company's shares were thrown out of the S&P ESG Index in June because of weak oversight in the sale of its user data to advertisers." End quote.

So, see what I mean about it not being what ethical and sustainable investors might infer from its title!

Garry White's article is titled, Is vegan investing a marketing fad or a real investment trend? It's a good read for anyone interested in the rapidly growing market of plant-based food investing.

Another useful write-up on the Vegan Climate Fund can be found under the title, World's First Vegan-Friendly Fund Opens for Trading, appearing on the VegWorld Magazine website.

And, further insight can be found in this post Ethical Stock Investment To Launch On New York Stock Exchange by Liam Gilliver writing in Plant Based News.

Incidentally, Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND.O) (Nasdaq) was still trading at multiples of its initial public offering price as of compiling this podcast. However, given current market dynamics and the history of stocks that go ballistic, it wouldn't be surprising to see its share price retreat somewhat in the near future.

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Now for some wonderful news concerning ESG corporate bonds. For the first time, a study finds that adding ESG criterion to selecting corporate bonds boosts outcomes for investors.

In an article titled, ESG overlay 'boosts outcomes for corporate bond investors': report, Susanna Rust, in IPE, writes that "[JP Morgan Asset Management] found that ESG scores could enhance portfolio outcomes via lower drawdowns, reduced portfolio volatility and, in some cases, marginally increased risk-adjusted returns. Although its study showed that using ESG scores improved gross portfolio returns for all categories of corporate bonds, this only held true for investment grade corporate debt once transaction costs were accounted for." Close quote.

These are important new findings by JP Morgan. It had been found that screening sovereign bonds using ESG criteria provided better risk-adjusted returns – but corporate issues hadn't been explored much.

Of course, though I trust JP Morgan to do excellent research, I'd really like to see this, and similar investment industry research, published in appropriate peer-reviewed journals. That would help ensure such research can be relied upon and is not just some investment firm 'pushing a product.'

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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 for this edition.

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 August 30. See you then. Bye for now.

Water-related investing gains traction and has profit potential. Beyond Burger sizzle heightens interest in plant-based food producers. Unilever and Nestlé cited. Coldwater poured on cruise line investing. Morningstar ratings changes will allow investors to directly compare company sustainability scores across industries. Canada's Responsible Investing Association website offers terrific new resources including investment values screening tool.

PODCAST: Water and Veggie Investing, Cruise Line Greenwashing

Transcript & Links August 2, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for August 2, 2019 – presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing information and resources.

If you hear any terms in this podcast that are unfamiliar to you, just Google them.

Also, you can find a full transcript, live links and often bonus material to these podcasts at their editions' podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts

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Now many sustainable investors are getting excited about investing in water — that is companies and funds engaged with water in some way.

Writing in the New York Times in an article titled, As Fresh Water Grows Scarcer, It Could Become a Good Investment, Tim Gray says, and I quote, "The prospect of shortages in the years ahead could make water a precious commodity… The United Nations Environment Program has predicted that half the globe's population could face severe water stress by 2030. Annual expenditures of $200 billion, up from a historical average of about $40 billion to $45 billion, are needed now to keep spigots running, the U.N. said in a 2016 report." End quote.

In his article, Mr. Gray discusses several leading funds in this sector. The first is the AllianzGI Global Water Fund (AWTAX: Nasdaq) which is an actively managed fund that holds companies – and quoting the article – "[that provide] products or services to help overcome water scarcity and remedy infrastructure shortcomings… Created in 2008, the AllianzGI fund returned an annual average of 9.83 percent over the 10 years that ended in June, compared with 5.37 percent for its average Morningstar peer." End quote.

The second fund he writes about is the Calvert Global Water Fund (FWAX: Nasdaq), which is a passively managed index fund that, and I quote, "[is] divided into four subgroups — utilities, infrastructure outfits, technology providers and efficient users like Taiwan Semiconductor… The fund returned an annual average of 8.56 percent over the 10 years that ended in June." Close quote.

The third series of funds are under the umbrella of Invesco. They have three ETFs: Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO: Nasdaq) which holds US companies, and for global holdings Invesco Global Water ETF (PIO: American Stock Exchange). Both are based on Nasdaq indexes.

The third fund is the S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW: NYSE Arca). The Water Resources and Global Water funds, and quoting the article, "[have] 'more focus on companies developing technology around delivering clean water,' while the S&P index fund leans more toward utilities, which make up about half of its assets, said J. Jason Bloom, senior director of Global Macro E.T.F. Strategy at Invesco... The S&P Global Water Index fund returned an annual average of 11.05 percent for the decade that ended in June." Close quote.

Mr. Gray mentions two funds other funds First Trust Water ETF (FIW: NYSE Arca) and the Tortoise Global Water ESG Fund (TBLU: BATS Stock Exchange).

Points to consider when investing in water include the possibility of regulatory controls and ethical considerations regarding its pricing – especially for poor people. So, though water investing looks attractive, you need to weigh your own ethical values.

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Continuing the water investment theme – and this being vacation time for many – some listeners might be thinking about cruise lines as an investment. Well, as far as cruise lines go, Tim Nash writing for Corporate Knights throws cold water on two of the leading global cruise line companies.

Mr. Nash's article is titled, Tim Nash's Sustainable Stock Showdown: Can plastic pledges save troubled cruise lines? In it he reviews Carnival Corporation (CCL: NYSE) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL: NYSE).

Mr. Nash writes that Carnival was in the news recently as it pledged to end the use of all single-use plastics by 2021 and that this came a month after the company was fined $20 million for dumping overboard plastic waste near the Bahamas and prior to that was forced to pay a $40 million fine for illegally dumping oil. So, is Carnival becoming environmentally conscious or is this new gesture just a token event? One wonders…

Concerning Royal Caribbean, Mr. Nash comments that and I quote, "Royal Caribbean has a dashboard of environmental goals for 2020 such as emissions reductions, sustainable sourcing and destination stewardship, but it doesn't disclose targets or indicators." End quote. My perspective is that without targets and authoritative independent review of them it's just greenwashing.

In conclusion, Mr. Nash says, quoting him, that, "The reality is both of these companies have leaky sustainability strategies, which could end up costing investors. Carnival Corporation has somewhat better transparency in its reporting but with a high carbon intensity, a poor CEO-to-worker pay ratio and a low tax responsibility, I wouldn't blame sustainable investors for jumping ship." End quote.

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Most cruise lines are noted for the terrific meals; however, I wonder if any of them are yet offering the Beyond Meat burger! Its stock has been on a tear. It's been one of the most amazing IPOs in history with its recent stock price over $200 – over eight times its IPO price of May 2! Presently though, it's run into some headwinds as company insiders and executives plan to sell stock in a significant secondary stock issue. Some additional treasury stock will be sold too.

Again, the conclusion drawn from Beyond Meat's success is the massive interest in meat alternatives which correspond, generally, to the significant rise in veganism and vegetarianism globally. This trend and investments related to it could become a core holding for ethical and sustainable investors.

Among the global food companies best positioned for plant-based food product sales are Unilever (ULVR: London Stock Exchange) and Nestlé (NESN: Swiss Stock Exchange) this according to UK-based FAIRR, a US$5.3tn-backed investor coalition, says Andy Coyne in an article titled, Unilever, Nestle among best prepared for plant-based future.

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Many of you no doubt visit the Morningstar site for investment and sustainability information. You'll be happy to know that Morningstar is improving its sustainability rankings.

Quoting from an article titled, Morningstar Updates Sustainability Ratings, Gabriel Presler writes on their UK site, that, "The goal is to provide investors with a greater understanding of how the companies in their portfolios are managing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact compared to their peers. This rating change will allow investors to directly compare companies across industries." End quote.

A criticism of mine has long been the need to be able to compare sustainable investing, ESG attributes, etc., across companies in the same or similar industries. So, this change is truly welcome.

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Two other quick bits of potentially useful information.

For Canadian ethical and sustainable investors, Canada's revamped Responsible Investing Association website offers some terrific new resources. For instance, not only is it easy to find Canadian licensed responsible investing advisors, but investors can find Canadian mutual funds, ETFs, etc., that reflect their values by using the site's new questionnaire feature. Simply go to https://www.riacanada.ca/ri-marketplace/

The second item is yet another warning about the proceeds of green bonds not going where you think they should be going.

In a Financial Times article, titled, Clearer metrics are needed to assess green bond authenticity, Joshua Kendall, a senior ESG analyst at Insight Investment, writes that "Imagine lending money to a company to invest in green projects – and that group then using the proceeds to pay off other debt. That money has no discernible environmental impact and there is nothing you can do: it is all in the contract… Only a third of green bonds issued in the past three years met our three-stage criteria for sustainable issuance. This leads us to question the 'green bond' label and, more generally, it could undermine the authenticity of dedicated green bond funds." Close quote.

The conclusion? Before investing in green bonds or green bond funds be very clear about what they're investing in really does meet with your expectations!

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So, these are my top recent news stories and tips for ethical and sustainable investors.

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 for this edition.

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 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 the content of this podcast or anything else investment-related. I can't say I'll have all the answers for you and some answers I can't give due to licensing restrictions. But where I can help I will.

Now, a big thank you for listening.

Come again! My next podcast is August 16. So, bye for now.

© 2019 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.

(Note: my next podcast is August 2.) Kellogg has the most successful vegie burger, pressure begins for IPO. More ESG stock, fund, and portfolio tips. Abandon GE, buy Schneider Electric, says Tim Nash in his stock challenge. Pot companies plan to adopt ESG as they strive to be seen as responsible, ethical, and sustainable investments.

PODCAST: Kellogg's 'Beyond Meat,' ESG Stock Tips, Ethical Pot Companies

Transcript & Links July 5, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for July 5, 2019—presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing information and resources. Please note that due to holidays my next podcast will be on August 2.

Now to this podcast. And, Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you.

Also, you can find a full transcript, live links and bonus material to this podcast at this edition's podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts

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Hey, about the continuing saga of Beyond Meat. Its stock as of this writing is still holding well over $150 s share.

Well, it seems that Brett Arends writing in MarketWatch has found that Kellogg has its own successful Beyond Meat competitor under the guise of its subsidiary MorningStar Farms -- and it's going under the radar of everyone!

In an article titled, Kellogg is sitting on a 'fake meat' gold mine bigger than Beyond Meat, Brett argues that Kellogg, whose stock price has been struggling for years, should take MorningStar Farms public and might well become even more valuable than Beyond Meat.

Quoting Brett, he says, that, "Kellogg already owns the largest single 'fake meat' operation in the country in MorningStar Farms, a brand that has been around since the 1970s. [and he says] Where's its IPO?"

Continuing, Brett states, that, "I tried MorningStar's 'Grillers' vegetarian burgers not long ago, on the recommendation of some friends. Frankly, I found them way better than Beyond Meat's 'Beyond Burgers' and not obviously worse than the so-called 'Impossible Burger' that people are raving about. Close quote.

Brett says that Kellogg won't break out the annual sales figures for MorningStar Farms—though he believes they could be around $450 million and that compares with $290 million for Beyond Meat's 2019 sales estimate!

So, will Kellogg spin-off MorningStar Farms and do an IPO? Who knows but Sustainalytics gives Kellogg an ESG rating of 65—putting it in the 81st percentile of its peers and Reuters says analysts following the stock presently rate it as a hold. So, something you might consider.

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Barron's the US investment daily paper recently published a piece by Karen Hube titled, How to Build Your Own ESG Portfolio. She says all the right things, such as the following, quoting her, "By putting your savings in funds that assess how a company is addressing (or worsening) environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, factors, you hitch your investments to good corporate citizens, and may earn above-average returns. But turning the concept into a practical investment portfolio without compromising on investing mandates such as diversification and due diligence comes with a unique set of challenges." End quote

So, some great points are made in her article, but her portfolio appears overly diversified to me. Statistically, having more than fifteen stocks in diversified industries across regions will give you very little extra statistical benefit. Also, no-doubt it'll include sectors and companies that won't please you!

Along similar lines, John Eade of Argus Research Group published their sustainable stock recommendations in a post, An Argus Research Portfolio for Sustainable Impact Stocks which appeared in Money Show. John likes: Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL: OQ), Ecolab Inc. (ECL: NYSE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: NYSE), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM: NYSE), McDonald's Corp. (MCD: NYSE), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: N), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC: NYSE) and a few more that you can see by clicking the link in the transcript for this podcast.

Again, if you have or are interested in creating a portfolio of profitable individual stocks that reflect your values, learn how to do it properly and systematically in my one-hour DIY Ethical-Sustainable Investing Pays Tutorial. Take a few seconds to check it out! Go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and look down the right-hand sidebar.

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In speaking of portfolio diversification, heavy industry is not a sector that as an ethical and sustainable investor you might consider. Nonetheless, you can't escape the necessity for it in our society and it can have a place in your portfolio too. So, in Tim Nash's sustainable stock showdown pulls plug on GE, he compares General Electric (GE: NYSE) with Schneider Electric (SGBSY: OTC).

GE has been in the doldrums for several years. Tim says about GE, that, "GE was a great investment throughout the 20th century, but lacking a clear forward-looking strategy to transition into a low-carbon future, it's no wonder that sustainable investors are turning out the lights on GE shares." End quote

Concerning Schneider Electric, Tim says, that, "Schneider Electric is a French energy management company making hardware and software that helps companies improve their energy efficiency… Schneider Electric at #60 on the 2019 Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list, and #13 on the 2019 Corporate Knights and As You Sow Clean200 list."

Finally, he says, "If you want to keep the lights on sustainably in the 2000s, forget GE. Schneider Electric is a better investment."

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Yet another new low-cost ESG ETF has been launched. It's the Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF (NYSE: SNPE). What's special about this ESG ETF is that it tracks the new S&P 500 ESG Index. According to Todd Shriber at Benzinga in a post, Another Cheap ESG ETF is Here, Todd writes, that, the "S&P Dow Jones launched the index earlier this year and its approach to ESG investing is traditional in that it excludes tobacco companies, civilian firearms manufacturers and companies with low scores based on the United Nations Global Compact for responsible business…

Continuing the quote, Todd says that, "The new SNPE allocates over 27% of its weight to the technology sector and a combined 28.23% of its weight to the health care and consumer discretionary sectors. SNPE is home to 319 stocks. The financial services and industrial sectors combine for over 20% of the fund's weight."

Now earlier I brought up the subject of over-diversification and here I'm concerned that like most other general ESG ETFs they tend to under diversify into a few key sectors—and so, for instance, when tech, health care, and financials do well, they thrive. Since these sectors have done so well in the past decade, portfolios that are heavily weighted in those sectors have generally outperformed.

However, with trade frictions, anti-monopolistic sentiments and governments potentially further regulating health care costs and privacy concerns coming to the fore, it's possible that stock market leadership might rotate to other market sectors.

From another perspective that also relates in a way to diversification, is a protestation by James Gard in a Morningstar UK article. In it, he argues to be a little 'looser' in not being too strict in only including top ESG rated companies in your portfolio. His article is titled, Should ESG Funds Buy "Bad" Companies? James makes a point that, quote, "Investors who shun such firms may miss out if these efforts pay off in the long-term."

James further quotes Jon Hale, also of Morningstar, as follows, "Wouldn't another investor come along to take the place of the 'responsible' investor? And if enough investors shun a company's stock, it could become undervalued and end up outperforming for those who don't have any problem investing in it." And by the time that happens, that poor performing ESG stock could become a leading ESG stock with great stock price gains that you would've missed out on. So that's the argument for loosening your ESG stock screening.

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Incidentally, terrific price gains have been made with pot stocks in recent years. But can they be worthy investments for ethical and sustainable investors? That's a complicated question. Besides the personal values issues for you, you might've wondered if pot companies can do well with ESG issues?

Well, the pot industry is aiming to create its own ESG standards. Kristine Owram, writing in a Bloomberg article titled, Pot Firms Seek to Transition From Sin Stocks to Ethical Darlings, says, that, and I quote, "A group of 45 companies operating in the cannabis industry has crafted a set of standards that they hope could one day transform them from sin stocks into ESG darlings."

This will be fascinating to watch! Can pot companies be sold as health producing ESG focused entities to institutional investors? For a great review of the pot industry from an ESG perspective see the Sustainalytics post and report, ESG Risks of Cannabis Cultivation: Energy, Emissions and Pesticides.

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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 for this edition.

And be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in iTunes or wherever you listen to this podcast. That way you can help promote not only this podcast but ethical and sustainable investing globally.

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 the content of this podcast or anything else investment related. I can't say I'll have all the answers for you and some answers I can't give due to licensing restrictions. But where I can help I will.

Now, a big thank you for listening—and please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family.

Come again! And as I mentioned, my next podcast is scheduled for August 2. Yes, I'm taking a break. Talk to you then. Bye for now.

Which renewable energy stocks benefit from lower rates? Beyond Meat's wild stock success shows paradigm shift among investors for new vegan-vegetarian food investing. Comparing PepsiCo vs Coke-Cola environmentally and as investments. New robo advisor offers investing for racial justice. What to watch for to avoid greenwashing when investing. New large cap ESG ETF gets attention.

PODCAST: Renewable Energy Energized, Greenwashing and Investing

Transcript & Links June 21, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for June 21, 2019—presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investment information and resources.

Now to this podcast. And Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you.

Also, you can find a full transcript, live links and bonus material to this podcast at this editions' podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts

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Now, many investors listening to this podcast are investing with an ethical-sustainable investing mindset that takes seriously the need to care for the planet and as such is already leaning towards – if not done so already – to a more vegetable-based diet. Therefore, you've been following with great interest Beyond Meat's ascension to stock price heights that were unimaginable a few weeks ago. Recently, it was trading above $160—and to me, that tells us something.

It says that there's a paradigm shift taking place in the food industry centering around vegan-vegetarian foods and in my June 7 podcast I gave you some links to sites where you could find some interesting ideas for such investments. Now, also along these lines, Corporates Knights have published another good article on this industry titled, Plant burgers bring home the bacon and there you might find even more companies in this sector that you could look at.

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Another favorite for ethical-sustainable investors is renewable energy. In the US, despite President Trump's attempt to get everyone excited about the fossil fuel industry there, renewable energy continues to take-off.

An argument for even greater take-off is made by Travis Hoium in his Motley Fool post Why Renewable Energy Stocks Could Have a Great Year. He argues that lower US interest rates will power up renewables. Quoting him, he says, "Like it or not, renewable energy stocks' performance today is tied to what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates in any given month. The value of renewable power plants rises and falls with the market's interest rates, and the impact of their movement trickles down to influence demand for everything from solar panels to inverters and wind turbines." End quote.

Companies he likes in the solar panel area are Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ), First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), and SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) and for wind, General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Vestas Wind Systems (NASDAQOTH: VWSYF).

Travis also makes other recommendations in the renewable energy sector that you can read in his post.

Sophia Cai, writing in Barron's with an article titled, Solar Power Is Starting to Shine. Here Are Some Stocks Poised to Benefit, covers Sunrun (NASDAQ: RUN), SunPower (NASDAQ SPWR), Vivant Solar (NYSE: VSLR), and Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE Arca: TAN).

While on the subject of renewable energy, a global new cell efficiency and modular output record were made by JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS). And what they did specifically, quoting a news release titled, JinkoSolar Breaks World Record for Cell Efficiency and Module Output states, "that the maximum conversion efficiency of JinkoSolar's cheetah size cells and N-type cells reached 24.38% and 24.58%, respectively, during testing conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in March 2019, China's authoritative national academy for the natural sciences." Close quote.

Is JinkoSolar a buy? Well, the average of six analysts covered by Reuters rate it as hold, possibly a buy. However, these analyst opinions appear to have been made prior to JinkoSolar's announcement.

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Profitably investing in renewable energy is one way we can help solve our climate change problems and thus create a less polluted world. Another is investing in companies making real efforts to reduce plastics' pollution. Plastics' pollution has recently been given prominence and two companies among the largest polluters of plastic are Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

Tim Nash over at Corporate Knights compares them both from a plastics, environmental, and investing perspective, in his article, Tim Nash's sustainable stock showdown: Pepsi vs. Coke plastic challenge. He says, "Forget taste tests – [its] which drink maker will be the choice of a planet-conscious generation?"

His final opinion is that, and quoting him again, he says that "Coca-Cola and Pepsi are very similar when it comes to most sustainability metrics, but I'll give Pepsi the edge thanks to its broader diversification and the disruptive potential of refillable dispenser technologies like SodaStream. Both companies have a long way to go, but Pepsi is this week's winner of the Sustainable Stock Showdown." End quote.

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Now doing your own investing can be daunting. Just in these podcasts, you hear about so many different investment opportunities. Because I know what this can be like, a year ago I created a simple step by step one-hour DIY Ethical-Sustainable Investing Tutorial. It doesn't require any financial knowledge or math skills and you'll quickly learn some simple things to easily put-together a stock portfolio reflecting your values directly – and which will potentially be as profitable and at a lower cost than any other option available! So, take a few seconds to check it out!

Just go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down the right-hand column for the link.

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Now let's cover a few useful miscellaneous items.

If you're interested in racial justice issues there's a robo advisor for US investors offering just that. The firm is Openinvest, and it has launched the Racial Justice Index Fund. Here's what Openinvest says about it, quote, "OpenInvest has identified companies that hold themselves accountable to the public regarding their progress on employee diversity and their commitment to environmental justice. Our Racial Justice cause allows any investor to tailor their investments to only include those companies who are transparent about their progress on diversity targets, and to divest from those that disproportionately pollute in communities of color."

You can also read more about it a FORTUNE article titled, You Can Now Invest in a 'Racial Justice' Index Fund by Rey Mashayekhi.

And there's yet another new US ESG ETF that's gathering attention and that is Nuveen's ESG Large-Cap ETF (CBOE: NULC). You can read all about in Todd Shriber's article, Nuveen Adds To ESG Roster With New Large-Cap ETF at benzinga.com. Quoting his article, "The new NULC tracks the TIAA ESG USA Large-Cap Index. The Index uses a rules-based methodology that seeks to provide investment exposure that generally replicates that of large-cap benchmarks through a portfolio of securities that adhere to predetermined ESG, controversial business involvement and low-carbon screening criteria, according to Nuveen." Close quote.

While wanting to invest ethically, sustainably, we can always be subject to 'greenwashing' investing. That is, investing in companies that say a lot of good things, but don't do any real heavy lifting. I've always been greatly concerned about this and for decades have advocated that corporate social responsibility reports, now often replaced with sustainability reports, provide not only metrics that are material – that is, would affect their operations and stock price – but also such reports be quantifiable where possible and audited by reputable outside independent auditors. Much the same way as for financial statements. And we're getting there!

Only in this way can we get rid of greenwashing. Masja Zandbergen has written a good piece about avoiding greenwashing from a portfolio manager's perspective in the article titled, Avoiding greenwashing in sustainable investing in Singapore's The Business Times. It's useful reading to see how you might avoid falling for greenwashing in your investing.

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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 for this edition.

And be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in iTunes or wherever you listen to this podcast. That way you can help promote not only this podcast but ethical and sustainable investing globally.

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 the content of this podcast or anything else investment related. I can't say I'll have all the answers for you and some answers I can't give due to licensing restrictions. But where I can help I will.

Now, a big thank you for listening—and please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family.

Come again! My next podcast is scheduled for July 5. Bye for now.

Exciting new ESG ETFs hit market. See reviews here. Corporate Knights stock showdowns: Exxon vs Neste (energy) and Kimberly-Clark vs Cascades (paper). Low ESG performers promising to upgrade their ESG activities can potentially outperform high ESG stocks. Beyond Meat leading a craze in vegan meat replacements that has years to run with many investment opportunities.

Transcript & Links June 7, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for June 7, 2019—presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investment information and resources.

Now to this podcast. And Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you.

Also, you can find a full transcript, live links and bonus material to this podcast at this editions' podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts

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First off, I'm going to talk about two new ESG ETFs: The Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock (NASDAQ: VEIGX) and the Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF (NYSE Arca: USSG)

The Vanguard ETF is written-up by someone I really admire and have posted works by him before. His name is Jon Hale of Morningstar. His insightful article was posted at Yahoo! Finance.

One of Jon's main points is that this ETF is likely to be mostly comprised of low-risk ESG companies given that it's manager, Wellington Global Stewards, manages a fund available for Europeans that has a similar risk profile. Also, for an actively managed fund, it is low cost with an estimated annual expense ratio of 0.55%.

Jon likes this fund, saying that, and quoting him, "the fund does have a lot going for it out of the starting gate, including low fees, a quality subadvisor, and what appears to be well-conceived approach to ESG. I expect successful asset-gathering over time." He does have one concern though, saying that, and I quote, "One caveat I have about the fund is that while comanagers Mandel and Courtines have years of portfolio management experience, [this fund] appears to be their first serious dive into ESG investing." Close quote.

The second ETF, the Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG Leaders Equity ETF has done something remarkable for an ESG ETF and that is in its first two months of trading—that is by May 29—it attained over $1 billion in assets, according to a post, titled, An Impressive Start For USSG ESG ETF, on the ETF Trends website.

Another difference about this fund that some of you might like is that compared to other ESG ETFs it screens out companies engaged in alcohol, weapons, gambling, and other controversial products or activities. You should realize that ESG ratings refer to company operations and almost never to a company's end products or services. Hence, tobacco, alcoholic beverage, and even weapons companies, can still score high on ESG factors!

One other feature about this ETF and a possible reason for its terrific asset gathering performance in its first two months is that it has an annual management fee of only 0.10%! Now remember though, this is a passively managed fund tracking the MSCI USA ESG Leaders Index that includes 339 stocks.

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Tim Nash over at Corporate Knights has another great stock showdown. He sought to find a greener energy replacement for Exxon, the giant US oil company, and found, Neste (on the Helsinki Exchange: NTOIY). Quoting Tim, "Neste is a Finnish oil refiner that is now redefining what an energy company looks like. Although it still earns most of its revenues from oil refining and gas stations, biofuels like renewable diesel are now the fastest growing part of its business, comprising half its total profits. Its biofuels are made from a combination of waste sources (animal fat and used cooking oil) and plant sources (rapeseed oil and palm oil)."

Continuing quoting him, he says, "If you're looking to divest your portfolio from fossil fuels entirely, Neste may not be the company for you. But by showing the world how an oil and gas company can successfully transition into a renewable energy powerhouse, Neste wins this week's Sustainable Stock Showdown." Unquote.

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Tim Nash has also done another recent 'stock showdown'—this time Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) vs. Cascades (TSE: CAS), two companies prominent in disposable paper products.

Though some of you might not like the idea of investing in such companies, you can't get away from the fact that our use of paper keeps growing despite the digital everything economy. Also, in a well-balanced all-weather portfolio, you can't be too overweight in say, tech, and financials.

All industries have their ups and downs, and yes, tech has done incredibly well but given the current concerns with privacy, tariff policies, etc., who knows what the future will be. So, yes, boring companies in boring traditional all-weather industries that have good ESG credentials have a place in most portfolios.

So, Tim gives a wonderful overview of the disposable paper products industry—its pros and cons from environmental and other viewpoints—and how both companies are trying to do a better job on the issues he raises. Here are some quotes from his article, he says, that, "The forestry sector, in general, has a chequered past with impacts on biodiversity loss, climate change, and indigenous rights."

Continuing, he says, "From an investment perspective, Cascades is a much smaller company than Kimberly-Clark and pays a smaller dividend. Cascades could see higher revenue growth from expansion into areas like 100% recycled food packaging, and may provide better growth over time as the anti-plastic wave picks up. Both companies have good sustainability scores, but I'll give Cascades the win for this week's Sustainable Stock Showdown." Close quote.

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Now, do you select investments based solely on excluding specific industries, such as weapons and tobacco companies? If so, Masja Zandbergen, head of ESG at Swiss investment firm, Robecco, argues in a post written by Joe McGrath in Expert Investor, that a portfolio made up of such investments shouldn't be called sustainable. I agree with that if that's the sole basis for portfolio selection.

Furthermore, if you want to screen out certain industries, that's fine, but it's also good to apply ESG criteria in selecting the balance of your investments.

Incidentally, Ms. Zandbergen, like many in the ESG-sustainable investment industry argues that—and quoting her, saying, "she believes that companies with low ESG scores should be encouraged to improve their behaviors, through engagement." And that's what we all want, and it makes financial sense too.

You might be aware of the several studies showing that companies with high ESG scores trade at a relative premium to companies with low ESG scores. However, did you know that low ESG scoring companies that prove to be on an upward trajectory in their ESG performance can make outsized stock price gains relative to the high ESG performers?

This in part explains why companies like Robecco often pick lower scoring ESG companies and engage with them to improve their ESG activities and thereby ride the wave of that company's improved stock price.

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In previous podcasts, I covered the rise of Beyond Meat. Well, its stock recently traded over $100—four times its IPO price! To me, this whole area of vegetable meat replacement food is terrifically exciting, offering new investment possibilities—and the media is onto it too! If you haven't considered investing in this new industry, you just might want to.

As is often the case, celebrities often influence public taste—sorry for the pun!

A great example of media interest in vegetable meat replacement is Tom Metcalf's Bloomberg article, titled, James Cameron Sees Global Salvation in Plant-Based Investing. James Cameron's films have been immensely successful, grossing over $6 billion worldwide. Quoting the article, "[James and wife Suzy Amis] have increasingly focused their family office on plant-based investments, from an organic farm in New Zealand to a Canadian plant that makes protein concentrates from peas and lentils." Unquote.

The article also gives some impressive US stats, saying that, and I quote, that, "Retail sales of plant-derived meat alternatives rose by almost 25% to an estimated $770 million in the 12 months ended August 2018 from a year earlier, according to a February report by Rabobank, while vegan alternatives to products such as milk, cheese and yogurt are estimated to ring up $4.1 billion in sales." End quote.

For a good review article of this trend and other players in this industry see the Greenbiz post by Shana Rappaport, titled, It's 'impossible' to ignore the world of alternative proteins.

For stocks to invest in, vegfaqs.com, suggests Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND), Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR), Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), AAK (STO: AAK), SenzaGen (STO: SENZA) and SIMRIS (STO: SIMRIS).

On this edition's podcast webpage, you can find bonus information and links on investing in this exciting new sustainable industry. Go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this edition.

(Bonus links: http://investsnips.com/list-of-publicly-traded-vegan-companies/ and https://vegconomist.com/ )

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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 for this edition.

And be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in iTunes or wherever you listen to this podcast. That way you can help promote not only this podcast but ethical and sustainable investing globally.

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 the content of this podcast or anything else investment related. I can't say I'll have all the answers for you and some answers I can't give due to licensing restrictions. But where I can help I will.

Now, a big thank you for listening—and please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family.

Come again! My next podcast is scheduled for June 21. Bye for now.

Top 100 US ESG companies for 2019 by CR Magazine. Profitably invest in harmony with your spiritual or religious ideals. Solar power breakthrough—but investing in solar has its perils. A valuable investing tip that really works. Confused who's best, Uber or Lyft? An analyst compares them. Vanguard launches actively managed ESD ETF. And more.

PODCAST: Top US ESG Companies, Solar Power Breakthrough, Investing Tip

Transcript & Links May 26, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for May 26, 2019. Presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investment resources.

Now to this podcast. And for any terms that are unfamiliar to you, simply Google them!

Also, you can find a full transcript, live links and often bonus material at my podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts

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The first item to discuss is CR Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2019! CR Magazine reviewed 1,000 US companies for their ESG practices. Robbie Lock, a writer for 3BL Association, commenting on the research results wrote that "Owens Corning tops the ranking, followed by Intel, General Mills, Campbell Soup and HP Inc… Twenty-seven companies are new to the ranking in 2019 including Allstate, Delta Airlines and Mondelez International. Biggest gainers include Ball Corp., CBRE, Ford and Xylem, Inc."

Mr. Lock provides further clarification as to how CR Magazine obtains the rankings. Quoting him again, he says, "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking uses 134 total corporate disclosure and performance factors in seven categories: climate change, employee relations, environment, finance, governance, human rights, and stakeholders and society."

Also, that the, "There is no fee for companies to be assessed. To compile this ranking, information is obtained from publicly available resources only, rather than questionnaires or company submissions. Companies have the option to verify data collected for the ranking at no cost." Close quote.

I like the idea that companies don't pay to be included in the research and the data compiled is from publicly available sources.

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The 100 Best Corporate Citizens demonstrate various degrees of above average corporate ethics, and ethics is a central theme for those wanting to apply their spiritual or religious beliefs to investing. If you're interested in applying spiritual or religious values to investing, Meredith Jones just published in MarketWatch a post that could be of interest to you. It's titled, "Opinion: When your faith guides your investing decisions, can you still beat the stock market?" And she says the answer can be yes.

Ms. Jones reviews the leading ETFs and mutual funds for investors interested in Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian-Bible related ethics and principles.

For Catholics, she likes the Global X S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF, LKCM Aquinas Catholic Equity Fund, and the Ave Maria group of funds.

For those of Jewish persuasion, she says there's only one for now and that's the AMIDEX35 Israel Mutual Fund which invests in Israeli companies.

For Muslims, there's the Imam Fund IMANX the Amana group of funds and ETFs listed on the London Stock Exchange including iShares MSCI World Islamic ETF ISWD and the iShares MSCI USA Islamic ETF ISUS.

And under the umbrella of Christian-Bible offerings, Ms. Jones reviews the Timothy Plan and Guidestone family of funds.

For links to these funds go to my podcast page for this edition at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts.

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In my last podcast, I introduced the research of Tim Nash at Corporate Knights. Well, he's produced another research report that compares the pros and cons of investing in Uber or Lyft. You can read his full post under the title of Tim Nash's sustainable stock showdown: Uber vs. Lyft.

Personally, I'm not keen on either company because I believe competition—not just between them but also other entrants including potentially motor vehicle manufacturers themselves—will force them to keep user prices low which will continue to severely restrict profits. Also, their environmental benefits are overplayed as I mentioned in my podcast of April 12.

Anyhow, this is what Mr. Nash says in conclusion, "I'd put Lyft ahead by a headlight in this week's Sustainability Stock Showdown, but anyone that's interested in investing in either stock should be ready to fasten their seat belts and brace for a bumpy ride."

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One big area that I know might interest you is renewable energy. I have several items of news and information that I want to share with you concerning investing in this area.

The first thing you should know is that developments in new products are almost overwhelming. This industry has numerous innovative players and it's very difficult to know who will eventually be a leader. Sure, you can buy renewable energy ETFs—and a good read on what to buy is an article that appeared recently on Nasdaq, titled, 5 Clean Energy ETFs to Buy for 2019.

But if you're interested in individual companies, here's what I've seen in the past two weeks.

The New York Times ran an excellent piece reviewing a Danish company called Orsted. They produce massive offshore wind turbines whose energy costs are rapidly declining while already being highly competitive with new natural-gas fired plants.

In solar power, there's been a tremendous breakthrough in producing new solar panels that appear to be 20-25% more efficient than the best existing panels. A paper outlining the breakthrough appeared in ScienceDaily under the title, Breakthrough in new material to harness solar power. Who will manufacture, market and install such panels wasn't mentioned.

Incidentally, these panels do have a downside—they contain some lead. I'm sure testing in rainy and humid environments will be needed and manufacturing processes and end-of-life disposal policies will be needed too, considering that most countries will want assurance about the safe removal of lead.

I did a detailed study on solar panel manufacturers a few years ago and discovered that the manufacturing processes themselves can be highly toxic. Furthermore, most countries had no end-of-life policies in place to deal with the safe disposal of the toxic components of solar panels—and that is deeply concerning!

It's possible that the companies engaged in the manufacturing, marketing and installation of solar panels could at some point be hit with levies or fines in dealing with these issues.

At the time of my research, I was most impressed with SunPower and its environmental efforts.

So, one thing you might want to find out before investing in solar panel manufacturers is how they perform environmentally. A great resource for this is the Solar Power Scorecard produced by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. However, their last scorecard is a little dated and I'm hoping to see their new one soon.

Incidentally, Fox Business just reported on the huge growth of solar panel installation in the US in a post, titled, 2 Million U.S. Solar Installations Are Just the Start.

By the way, a tip for checking how investment analysts rate solar companies—or any companies for that matter—is simply to type into Google Search the name of the company followed by Reuters—the name of the media company—after it. Click search and then click the search item that says the company name and the text Reuters quote. Reuters will then bring-up a research report. Click on analysts in the links bar and you can see how analysts rate the stock of the company you're researching.

By getting the information on how analysts rate the companies you're interested in can be terrifically helpful in deciding which companies to invest in. It saves you a lot of time and effort. And this is exactly the kind of tip and help you get in my DIY Ethical-Sustainable Investing Pays Tutorial! This tutorial will be the most worthwhile 1-hour you'll ever spend getting help with your investments!

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Some other exciting new developments that might interest you are the following.

Vanguard, one of the world's largest fund companies, has launched its first actively managed ESG ETF, called the Global ESG Select Stock Fund (ticker VEIGX). It will officially begin trading on June 4. This is big as ETFs are mostly 'passively' managed, that is they pick a group of stocks typically based on an index, whereas active management means selling and buying different stocks as the managers see fit. In recent years passive investing has usually outperformed active investing. However, who knows what the future will bring.

Also, S&P Dow Jones, who have had ESG indices for many years is launching something new. They are launching ESG global indexes based on core regional and country benchmarks. What is especially interesting is that these indexes, and quoting their press release, provide "a return profile that's consistent with mainstream benchmarks that have been widely followed for years."

As an aside, what you can do, where possible, is to review the indexes that interest you and see what companies are included in them. You can often get useful ideas for new companies to look at!

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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 look for this edition.

And be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in iTunes or wherever you listen to this podcast. That way you can help promote not only this podcast but ethical and sustainable investing globally.

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 the content of this podcast or anything else investment related. I can't say I'll have all the answers for you and some answers I can't give due to licensing restrictions. But where I can help I will.

Now, a big thank you for listening—and please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family.

Come again! My next podcast is scheduled for June 7. Bye for now!

Beyond Meat initial public offering (IPO) share price soars over $80 from $25 surprising everyone and encouraging offerings that could excite ethical and sustainable investors. Learn how to find animal-friendly investments. UN agency PRI says socially responsible investing (SRI) should wake up to modern slavery. Unilever better investment over Johnson & Johnson says sustainability analyst.

Transcript & Links May 10, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! for May 10, 2019. Presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investment resources.

Now to this podcast. Again, for any terms that 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

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Many of you listening are interested in ESG or SRI bond and fixed income investments. And with good reason. A recent article titled, Largest 10 Socially Responsible Fixed Income ETFs, by Todd Shriber of ETF Trends, reviews two leading funds in this space. They are the iShares Global Green Bond ETF (on Nasdaq GM: ticker BGRN) and VanEck Vectors Green Bond ETF (on the NYSEArca: ticker GRNB). These bond funds have great pedigrees.

However, the article's title might suggest the review is of ten SRI fixed income ETFs and that's a little misleading. Concerning the ten listed—but not reviewed—I wouldn't put them in the same category as the two funds examined in the article.

The SRI credentials of the ten listed are mainly that they invest in government securities and blue-chip company bonds. Of course, governments fund all sorts of things that ethical and sustainable investors might argue aren't socially responsible. And even though blue-chip companies such as Apple are frequently top SRI holdings, their bonds aren't usually going directly to fund green projects.

Whereas, the iShares Global Green Bond ETF and VanEck Vectors Green Bond ETF specifically fund projects and activities related to environmental and social concerns.

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Well, I can't resist the temptation to not talk about the great Beyond Meat initial public offering! It came out at $25 on May 2 and has traded over $80 since then. For a good review of what the company is and what it faces regarding competition etc., see this MarketWatch post, Beyond Meat goes public with a bang: 5 things to know about the plant-based meat maker, by Ciara Linnane.

Quoting Ciara, she says, "The maker of the Beyond Burger, which is sold at Whole Foods and restaurant chain TGIF, among others, priced its initial public offering at $25 a share… raising at least $240 million at a valuation slightly shy of $1.5 billion." Close quote. Now at $80 a share Beyond Meat has a staggering market valuation of about $5 billion!

I'm delighted to see this offering, as one of the most important things we can do to slow down carbon emissions and climate change, is to reduce our consumption of meat. However, some climate researchers are skeptical about the net benefit of highly processed vegetarian and vegan offerings on the climate.

That this IPO went so well is a testament to the fact that even many conservative financial types are recognizing there's money to be made in climate change. However, I suspect that most of the interest probably comes from younger investors.

Furthermore, this could indicate the beginning of a thrilling era for new investment offerings that ethical and sustainable investors can get excited about!

Obviously, the underwriters significantly underestimated demand for Beyond Meat's shares. When IPOs triple in price right after being launched it means that the issuer—the company—could have gotten far more for their shares. Though Beyond Meat is probably happy, they're probably unhappy that they could've raised double or triple of what they got!

So, Beyond Meat is an exciting short-term play but with so many competitors to its products over the medium to long-term, it's not obvious it will be a winner yet.

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For a good review of what Beyond Meat's success means for two burger chains offering vegan burgers, see this post, titled, Tim Nash's sustainable stock showdown: battle of the burger chains, Corporate Knights, Canada. Admittedly this review is of the Canadian market, but it has bearing on the US and other markets too. Of course, Americans or anyone can invest in the Canadian stocks of the burger chains mentioned in that post.

After a great review, Mr. Nash finalizes his recommendation as follows, and I quote, "A&W Food Services of Canada (which has no corporate connections to A&W's American locations) is obviously a much smaller company than Restaurant Brands, but... with a higher dividend and a lower beta, A&W provides a nice mix of income and growth potential. The chain is the clear winner." Close quote.

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Now, for ethical and sustainable investors interested in the animal-friendliness of their investments, read this article by Meredith Jones of MarketWatch, titled, Opinion: Here's how to check the animal-friendliness of your investments. Quoting her, she says, "It's easy to check which individual stocks are 'cruelty-free,' but you can't yet invest in a vegan investment index." She offers several ways to checking which investments are free of animal-related products and testing.

If you're interested in finding more organizations that can help you in this endeavor, check-out my Investing for the Soul sites' pages Environmental Organizations & Resources and Organizations Promoting Corporate Ethical, Social & Environmental Responsibility.

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Turning to a completely different aspect of investing, let's talk about separately managed accounts at financial institutions compared to owning a portfolio of ETFs. Now separately managed accounts aren't for everyone as they usually require a sizeable investment. However, if you meet the threshold they could be better for US investors than ETFs, says Johny Mair at ThinkAdvisor.

Mr. Mair says in an article titled, ETF vs. SMA: Which Is Better for Sustainable Investing? That, and I quote, "SMAs are ideal for values-based investing as they allow investors to actively screen for certain product areas (e.g. oil, tobacco), or 'bad actors' that they deem antithetical to their values. They also allow for more specificity, e.g. designating a certain percentage of revenue from carbon emissions to be included in one's portfolio.

Furthermore, because SMA investors directly own the underlying securities, they can opt to play an active shareholder role, working to impact corporate behavior through voting proxies or shareholder resolutions." End quote.

Of course, for those who might not have the means for an SMA—or even for those who do—check out my DIY Ethical-Sustainable Investing Pays Tutorial. There, in 1-hour you can get a handle on how to easily and very cheaply put together your own personal values-based profitable portfolio—nonmatter its size.

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In looking for companies we all want to know about their ESG ratings. However, you might not be aware of which ESG rating firms are good. Well, a new report reviews the various ESG rating services. Go to this recent post in IR Magazine, headlined, ESG Ratings – A look at the ESG ratings landscape. Register at the bottom of the page to download the PDF report.

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Ethical and sustainable investors are concerned with many issues, but one that they might not have thought of and which is still a global problem is modern slavery. Fiona Reynolds, head of the UN's Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), says that '"There are a lot of ESG conversations around climate change ... but it is interlinked with modern slavery,' Reynolds told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview. 'We see many climate migrants and refugees who end up vulnerable and at risk of being trafficked,' she added." Close quote.

Another quote from the article states, that, "The U.N. estimates that some 40 million people are trapped in modern slavery, from factory jobs to forced marriages." End quote. Perhaps it's something you might ask the companies you like who might have the potential for such involvement.

The Reuters post is by Kieran Guilbert and titled, 'Look for the laggards' - investors told to target modern slavery.

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Lastly, another good comparative analysis by Tim Nash at Corporate Knights for ethical and sustainable investors has the title, Tim Nash's sustainable stock showdown: Johnson & Johnson vs. Unilever. He says, and I quote," With thousands of J&J cancer lawsuits pending, you might want to freshen up your portfolio with a cleaner company… J&J and Unilever are companies with very similar financial profiles, but, in my view, Unilever's brand is thriving while Johnson and Johnson's is deteriorating."

For decades, J&J has a been a favorite investment for ethical investors—but not so much anymore as Mr. Nash's post makes clear. Yet, most ESG funds still have it in their holdings. Check your holdings and see. Perhaps you still like J&J for other reasons. However, at the very least, these lawsuits and the negative publicity surrounding them is proving costly to the firm's bottom line and stock price.

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So, these are my top news stories 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 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 the content of this podcast or anything else investment related. I can't say I'll have all the answers for you and some answers I can't give due to licensing restrictions. But where I can help I will.

Now, 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!

GMO, the investment firm, has ideas for climate proofing investment portfolios. Municipal bonds might have considerable climate risks. S&P's ESG product raises conflict of interest issues as in financial crises of 2008-9. YUM! Brands takes an environmental leadership role in the food industry and radical new wind power technology could disrupt the wind energy industry.

Transcript & Links April 26, 2019

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By! Presented by Investing for the Soul, April 26, 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

So, here are some key items of news for the period April 12 to 26, 2019.

The first item is titled, 3 Ways to Make Your Portfolio More Climate-Aware, by Jon Hale at Morningstar.

I really respect Jon. He's doing an incredible job at Morningstar in orienting that famous investment research firm towards ESG. In his latest post he highlights the work of GMO—no that's not genetically modified organisms—but a top-notch investment house. For decades I've heard—and you too I'm sure—that if you narrow your investment universe you will get lower returns. Well, consider this from Jon's post, quote,

"Grantham and his colleagues at GMO looked at what happens when you remove a single sector from an S&P 500-based portfolio. They created S&P 500 portfolios ex energy, ex healthcare, and ex the other eight sectors in the index, going back to 1989, 1957, and 1925.

They found that the range of returns for the ex portfolios was only 50-60 basis points annualized, distributed above and below the S&P 500's return. In the case of the ex energy portfolio, it underperformed the S&P 500 by just 5 basis points annualized from 1925 to 2017, underperformed by 7 basis points annualized from 1957 to 2017, and outperformed by 3 basis points annualized from 1989 to 2017.

Grantham's conclusion: 'You can divest from oil--or about anything else--without much consequence for performance.'" Close quote.

So, according to GMO, divest from fossil fuels and not worry about lower returns! Nonetheless, I would be happier if this research was written-up and published in an appropriate peer-reviewed journal and critiqued. Incidentally, Grantham says that the fossil fuel sector is way overpriced considering its risks.

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Now, do you invest in, or are considering investing in, municipal or local authority bonds? Have you thought about climate change risk concerning municipal bond investments? Well, you should! Bernice Napach writing in ThinkAdvisor under the title, How to Reduce Investment Risk From Climate Change and Other ESG Woes, writes, and I quote her, that, "If no counter action is taken, such as reducing fossil fuel use, close to 60% of U.S. metro areas will lose 1% of more of gross domestic product, which will not be offset by comparable growth in other metro areas." Close quote.

Think about all the risks—and costs—municipalities might face regarding fires, flooding events, excessive winds, etc. So, before investing in municipal bonds, be satisfied concerning their climate change risks and plans. By the way, this article has a great map of the US showing those areas likely to be affected by Category 4 and 5 hurricanes between 2060 and 2080. It's quite alarming.

Also, be sure to understand municipalities long-term pension and other liability risks. Many analysts believe these alone could sink many American cities in the decades ahead. Hence, even with the tax advantages in some jurisdictions, tread carefully in municipal bond waters!

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If you want a good understanding as to the state of ESG data and information for investors, read the post, What investors actually want from sustainability data, by Ariel C. Pinchot and Giulia Christianson on Greenbiz.com. Needless to say, it's still a work in progress. If you've ever tried to analyze ESG info across companies—even in the same industry—it's usually impossible as they often use different metrics. Furthermore, unless the data is independently audited and verified, it can't be relied upon. The article describes in detail how these issues might be soon overcome.

Incidentally, you should subscribe to Greenbiz.com. It's a great source of information for ethical and sustainable investors.

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Many ethical and sustainable investors shy away from the fast food industry because of the poor health and negative environmental issues they help create. Well, here's some good news in a post, titled, Yum! Brands shows leadership among fast food peers, takes encouraging first step to mitigate its climate change impacts.

Quoting the post, "The parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut committed to pursue a science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations, franchises and supply chain (Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions), and to explore purchasing renewable energy."

Sometimes it pays well to invest in companies that are just beginning to make strides on ESG issues. Studies show that such companies often offer better alpha, that is, upside stock price potential, than established ESG winners.

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One new interesting ESG barometer on the horizon is a new ratings' service by S&P called S&P Evaluation. S&P will rate—at the request of the companies themselves—the ESG credentials pertaining to the company's ability to operate successfully in the future. You can read about in the post, Official ESG Evaluations from S&P Coming to Insurance Sector in Near Future, by Don Jergler, Insurance Journal. Quoting the post,

"'The ratings giant on April 11 announced the roll out of its ESG Evaluation, describing it as 'a new benchmark that provides a cross-sector, relative analysis of an entity's capacity to operate successfully in the future.'" Close quote.

Well, S&P's new ESG Evaluation product sounds great. However, I see some big snags with it. First, companies request to be rated—unlike the rating groups such as Sustainalytics and MSCI, etc., who rate companies regardless of what the companies themselves might want. Secondly, though not mentioned, S&P's standard credit ratings require companies themselves to pay to be rated. Is this yet another conflict of interest like the one that got these credit rating agencies in hot water back in 2008/9? Can you trust such ratings then? Thirdly, will the details of the ratings be public or just a rating's number? That's important as its the details that many ethical and sustainable investors will want to see.

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Now we have another survey of financial professionals showing that it's the 'g' for 'governance' in ESG that's really important to them. However, for many of you listening to this podcast, I'm sure that you might think the environment and or social criteria are at least equally important. I think this just illustrates the state of ESG currently. There's still much dispute about the quantity, quality, and standardization of the E and S information for it to be in the forefront for many investment professionals.

The survey was reported on Nasdaq by Kurt Schact with the title, ESG in Investment Management: New Age or Just Noise? The depth of the survey is extraordinary as 1,100 financial professionals and 23 workshops in 17 investment centers around the world took part, says the article.

The survey was conducted by the CFA Institute and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). This confirms other surveys that have tried to determine the relative importance of each of the three variables that make-up ESG.

What this might mean for you is that when doing your own ESG research on companies—and looking for maximum gains—you might want to weigh governance more highly than environmental and social factors. At least for now.

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Incidentally, if you're invested in wind turbine companies, beware, as there's a possible new disruptive competitor with a radically new kind of wind turbine that could be twice as efficient as present ones. This new development in wind turbine efficiency—if Vestas and others are unable to replicate it due to patents, etc.—could mean dramatic shifts in the industry ahead! See the post, Wind Power For Half The Price? Clarkson Professor Says Yes.

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So, there we have it for this podcast!

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 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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.