7 PROBLEMS WITH ESG INVESTING
FUNDS THAT DON’T LIVE UP TO THEIR CLAIMS
Ever hear someone use the phrase “big hat, no cattle”? Thats the problem here. Fund companies are well aware of the growing demand for ESG investing, so they have been quick to come up with new investment funds to meet the demand. The problem, is that many of these funds were cobbled together quickly without much due diligence in determining how E S and G they investments actually were. As more funds like this were thrown together it occurred to fund managers, that the investing public didn’t seem to mind that the funds weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Most investors simply look for the label, and never bother to actually look into what kinds of investments were inside or how those investments aligned to their ideals.
LACK OF URGENCY IN CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES
Not to discredit the societal, and governance issues that ESG funds seek to address. But quite frankly the environmental issues are the only ones that have the potential to doom us all. I would love to see a heavier emphasis in green investing specifically, not just in the ESG or SRI branded funds.
DISINGENUOUS MANAGEMENT
Funds managers aren’t the only people who have wisened up to the demand for ESG investments. CEO’s and managers are also very privy to the importance of at least appearing to care. Unfortunately it is becoming increasingly common to see directors of companies make environmental pledges, simply for the good PR. Sure, any pledge to be greener is a good pledge, so I do not want to discount that. What we need is more directors who actually care about the issues, and have a sincere interest in solving them. Until then, Environmental issues, and green investing will only go as far as they need to for CEO’s to rake in the maximum amount of profits for their firms.
PROFITS
Speaking of profits, this problem relates very much to the first issue. Investment companies know that the public is screaming for ESG investing opportunities. So out of the goodness of their hearts, and their sincere concern for the planet they have put together funds that seek to do good in the world. If only that were true. In fairness, for a few of the funds it probably is, but for most the motivation lies in the commissions and management fees earned from the funds they market.
TECHNOLOGY HEAVY FUNDS
A strong trend in ESG funds is that regardless of how companies sustainability scores are calculated (more on that below) the end result tends to be portfolios that are very heavily weighted in technology companies. This happens because tech companies tend to be much more aware of environmental issues than some of their peers. When all of the companies in say the S&P 500 get run through some ESG screens (as is the usual procedure to make an ESG fund) what comes out of the other end is no longer an accurate representation of the market, or a very diversified set of investments.
AMBIGUOUS SUSTAINABILITY RATINGS
There are plenty of firms that currently operate in the space of ESG ranking. They take in piles of corporate data, and spit out results and rankings in terms of how firms perform in regards to sustainability and responsibility. To their credit, these companies are all trying their best. The problem is that the metrics they use to score the companies can be wildly different, and thus it becomes increasingly difficult for an investor to know which companies are truly green etc.
CORPORATE INCENTIVES
Investors aren’t the only people who are starting to demand more of companies. Many of the worlds governments also provide large incentives for companies that can meet environmental goals, or other goals based on societal issues such as race or gender diversity etc. Recently JP Morgan Chase Bank started operating some ESG arms of their business. This is a great thing! But let me ask, do you think they did it because they care (hopefully), or do you think the motivator was that once they have the ESG label they can effectively borrow as much a they want from the European Central Bank at negative interest rates?