Uninvestability of Russian stocks and bonds affects ESG and conventional fund investors
The Bottom Line: Both conventional and ESG fund investors may be exposed to Russian securities that have declined in value primarily in emerging market funds. The Russian invasion of Ukraine led to suspensions in trading and likely modest portfolio losses in some active and passively managed funds primarily focused on emerging markets The Russian invasion […]
Rough start to the year January 2022
The Bottom Line: January 2022 has been rough for both stocks, bonds and selected sustainable indices that continue offering value in the intermediate and long-term. Concerns about inflation, central bank tightening and tensions with Russia over Ukraine agitated markets in January and led to a sharp increase in volatility and negative results After delivering very […]
Strong performance gains posted in 2021
The Bottom Line: Strong market gains in December accompanied by higher volatility; at the same time, selected sustainable indices continue to outperform in the intermediate-to-long-term. Strong gains in December accompanied by higher volatility Reversing November’s 0.69% decline, the S&P 500 Index gained 4.48% in December as markets quickly recovered in response to news reports from […]
Omicron lands in November and pushes stocks lower
The Bottom Line: The sudden appearance of Omicron pushes most major indices lower while selected ESG indices continue to outperform over the intermediate to long-term. Just about all major indices ended lower in November following the sudden appearance of Omicron The uncertainty introduced by the sudden appearance of the Omicron COVID 19 variant was swiftly […]
S&P 500 and selected sustainable indices recover in October
The Bottom Line: The S&P 500 gained 7.0% and erased September’s -4.7% decline; selected sustainable indices also bounced back with beats from 0.01% to 2.41%. October summary Gaining confidence from strong earnings reports, investors drove stock prices higher in October and the S&P 500 gained 7.0%, erasing last month’s -4.7% decline. Selected sustainable securities market […]
US markets rose in June and sustainable stock indices bounced back
The Bottom Line: S&P 500 Index records fifth consecutive monthly gain while sustainable stock indices bounced back in June to eclipse their conventional counterparts. Fears of inflation and the end of Fed stimulus failed to halt another rise in the S&P 500 Index, which recorded a fifth consecutive monthly increase with a gain of 2.3% […]
Markets in May post modestly higher total returns but ESG indices lag
The Bottom Line: S&P 500 took a breather in May, adding 70 bps after registering three-strong successive monthly gains while ESG indices, in general, lagged. S&P 500 added 70 bps in May following three-strong successive monthly gains while ESG indices, in general, lagged The gradual reopening of many economies on the heels of the ongoing […]
Markets rose in April while sustainable fund indices outperformed
The Bottom Line: Markets rose in April as economic activity and corporate earnings rebounded; ESG securities market indices diverged while sustainable mutual fund indices outperformed. Market Summary • Economic activity in the US rebounded strongly, fueling first quarter corporate earnings that beat analyst expectations, both in number and magnitude, and was on track to set […]