Bonds tumble 2.78% while large cap stocks gain 3.71% in March 2022
The Bottom Line: Heightened volatility in recent months likely to test the resolve of investors but longer-term ESG strategies seem to preserve their value proposition. Bonds gave up 2.78% in March while large cap US equities posted a gain of 3.71% Concerns and uncertainties regarding the implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the potential […]
Another difficult month-February 2022
The Bottom Line: Another difficult month for stocks and bonds but returns posted by clean energy funds show value of patience and long-term investing horizon. Negative year-to-date results for stocks and bonds widened in February: S&P 500 -2.99% and Bloomberg Aggregate -1.12% A rough start to the year for both stocks and bonds was followed […]
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 […]
Selected sustainable indices disappoint in September
The Bottom Line: The S&P 500 posted a -4.7% decline in September and selected sustainable securities market indices disappoint but maintain intermediate to long-term outperformance. Summary The S&P 500 posted a decline of -4.7% in September, after recording seven successive monthly gains. Selected sustainable securities market indices disappoint in September while intermediate to long-term results […]