Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Retirement Investing is a form of socially conscious investing where fiduciaries in a retirement plan review non-financial factors when analyzing investment decisions. (CFA Institute). Though the letters “ESG” may appear novel in the retirement context, “socially conscious” retirement investing is decades old. As early as the 1970s, public pension funds made socially conscious decisions within pension portfolios by divesting from “sin” stocks, like companies affiliated with smoking and gambling. (Jean-Pierre Aubry et. al, Center for Retirement Research). Millennials, the largest segment of the workforce in U.S. history, are now driving interest in ESG investing, putting trillions of dollars at stake for asset managers. (Chris Versage & Mark Abssy, Nasdaq). Workforce retirement plans are most of a non-retiree’s investment savings. (Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households, Federal Reserve). Therefore, because millennials are the largest segment of the work force, millennials increased attention in ESG to retirement investing…
Read MoreAfter almost fifty years since founding the company in 1973, Patagonia founder and majority owner, Yvon Chouinard, and his family have donated all of the voting stock and transferred all of non-voting stock of the company in the effort to mitigate climate change and protect the environment. (Martine Paris, Bloomberg Law). In this unconventional business decision, Chouinard divested control over Patagonia to a trust and all future profits to an environmental nonprofit. (Tima Bansal, Forbes). While Chouinard considered selling the company or taking it public, he decided that transferring ownership of Patagonia, valued at about $3 billion, was the only way to both preserve nature and his company’s values….
Read MoreThe tumultuous events of 2020 and 2021, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic and the global outcry for racial justice, have created new challenges and opportunities for diversity and inclusion. (Kenji Yoshino and Fenimore Fisher, Bloomberg Law). Many companies are grappling with the concept of privilege for the first time. These companies are also rethinking the financial rationale behind engaging in the work of educating about privilege and diverse experiences and are struggling to transform good ideas into practical outcomes. Id. While kind words and acknowledgment of privilege serve as a discussion launch point, the question becomes: what can corporations do in practice to advance social justice and diversity in order to add value to the investor? . . .
Read MoreNasdaq adopted a new board diversity rule in August 2021 requiring greater diversity in the boardroom for companies listed on its exchange, with the focus of the new rule requiring increased representation and disclosure of board members who self-identify as a female, an underrepresented minority, or LGBTQ+. (Michael Nagle, Bloomberg Law; Securities and Exchange Commission). While these new requirements are a step in the right direction, there is a category of underrepresented individuals excluded from the existing diversity rules – people with disabilities. . .
Read MoreWhile publicly-traded companies are coming under greater scrutiny and facing additional requirements to create diversity on their boards of directors (“boards”), private companies continue to skate under the radar on this front. One reason for this is that private companies do not face the same disclosure requirements that public companies do. (Ann Shepherd & Gené Teare, Crunchbase News). Another is that there is little information about the make-up of the boards of most private companies. However, in 2019 three organizations undertook a study of gender diversity of private company boards and built on that study in 2020 looking at both gender and racial and ethnic diversity. . .
Read MoreSeventy percent of American consumers in 2021 want their favorite companies to make a positive social and environmental impact. (Business Wire). A willingness to socially and environmentally improve society is therefore more than good ethics—it is good business. Beyond consumer sales, many companies raise capital by attracting investments based on their environmental, social, and governance efforts (“ESG”). (James Chen, Investopedia). ESG investing criteria represent the broad non-financial factors investors increasingly apply to their analysis of potential investments. (CFA Institute). Although traditionally ESG standards are not a formal part of financial reporting requirements, ESG is rapidly becoming a commonly recognized investment metric. . .
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