Investing IN Change

The U.S. president of the firm, who's retiring after this year, tells Investing IN Change where sustainable investing is headed and what’s going on with the political divide on a seemingly apolitical subject. Plus, Paul and Emile get into the details of the first lawsuit over ESG use in a 401(k) plan.

Kiley Miller, principal director of sustainable investing at Envestnet, joins the podcast to talk about how the firm works with advisors on sustainability and ESG. A couple of case studies — on the heavy rail industry and water use in the IT supply chain — show how important ESG considerations can be.

Plus, Paul and Emile talk about the fallout from Bud Light’s now-infamous marketing partnership with a trans influencer and the reaction to a column on that topic.

April is Financial Wellness Month, and guest Jennifer Coombs, director of client success at Ethos ESG, talks about the role sustainable investing can play in financial education. Whether sustainability acts as a gateway to investing or is a topic being explored by seasoned investors, it’s an area that’s hard to avoid — and advisors and clients can only benefit from knowing more about it.

Paul and Emile also discuss the political climate and the demand seen for ESG-themed mutual funds and ETFs, sales of which fared better last year than sales of non-ESG funds.

Sustainable investment providers in some cases have had to rethink what types of holdings are acceptable — including controversial areas like oil and weapons. The energy crisis that resulted from the war has also put sustainable funds at a disadvantage, and many have underperformed the broader market.

Morningstar associate director of sustainability research Alyssa Stankiewicz talks about how fund providers are adjusting to these conditions and how ESG is performing at a difficult time.

Plus, Paul and Emile discuss one of the latest developments in an anti-ESG push from Republicans – votes by Congress to undo the Department of Labor’s new rule governing ESG in retirement plans.

Paul and Emile go over recent developments in the anti-ESG efforts coming from several states and Congress, including attempts to invalidate the Department of Labor’s new ESG rule for retirement plans. Special guest Elysabeth Alfano, CEO and founder of VegTech Invest, discusses the environmental and health effects of the the animal industry.

Listen and subscribe to the ESG Clarity podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google.

Paul and Emile talk about themes to watch in 2023.

Special guest Nell Minow, vice chair at ValueEdge Advisors, gives insight on corporate governance and the current state of ESG and the politics affecting it. Minow, who has a second career in film writing, talks about some of the similarities with governance, and she even has a few movie recommendations on the topic of ESG.

ESG Out Loud US talks with the founder of a new retail trading app, Fennel, which incorporates ESG data. Company CEO Daniel Naim says that proxy voting, sustainability and shareholder engagement will pull more people into the investing world. Naim talks about how he made a major career trajectory change, leaving a physics Ph.D. program to start the broker-dealer Fennel Financials as well as Fennel Markets, which includes the new trading app.

Emile and Paul also discuss the Department of Labor’s final rule for ESG in retirement plans, and they catch up with ESG Clarity’s own Natasha Turner about her coverage of COP27.

Leading up to COP27, Columbia University professor Bruce Usher talks about how the world has gotten to the climate crisis and why progress to address it has stalled. But the energy transition provides many opportunities, and there is reason to be hopeful. Usher talks about teaching about the intersection of climate and finance and the disproportionate impact that wealthier nations have in global warming. Also, InvestmentNews’ Jeff Benjamin talks with Emile about the ESG potential of direct indexing and expanding proxy voting to fund shareholders.

US SIF CEO Lisa Woll talks with ESG Out Loud, reflecting on her time at the organization and how sustainable investing has grown from virtually unheard of to a topic that has grown popular and is mocked by politicians and one comic strip. The intensity of the recent opposition to sustainable investing hints that it is successful and is seen as a threat to business as usual. New regulations being pushed by the Biden administration could help propel ESG even further, Woll says.

Also, Paul and Emile discuss the climate implications of crypto and how a recent change instituted by Ethereum could mean a more environmentally friendly future for digital assets.

Listen and subscribe to the ESG Clarity podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google.

Paul and Emile discuss BlackRock and the rest of the firms on Texas’ sustainable investing blacklist, and how ESG investing is yet another political issue polarizing our country. Then Emile speaks with Roos Wijker of Follow This, a collective of shareholders, about the group's efforts to push Big Oil companies to accelerate the energy transition.