ESG
Blog
CalPERS & CalSTRS Report Lower Than Expected Returns – Is ESG One Reason Why?
CalPERS and CalSTRS – the two largest public employee pension funds in both California and the nation –just announced their annual investment returns for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Once again, it’s not good news for California taxpayers. Both funds reported that their respective net return of investments came in under ...
Tim Anaya
August 12, 2019
Blog
Are ESG Funds a Proxy for the Green New Deal?
After being soundly defeated in the Senate 0-57 (43 Democrats voted “present”), the Green New Deal continues to languish in the House. Roll Call reported the following excuse from Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “I can’t say we’re going to take that and pass it because we have to go through our ...
Rowena Itchon
June 19, 2019
Business & Economics
Are ESG Funds A Good, Long-Term Investment?
One of the hottest investment trends promises to do well while by doing good. This investment trend is called environmental, social, and governance investing, or ESG funds. Not all ESG funds have similar investment strategies. Some ESG funds actively invest in companies that meet specific environmental or social criteria. These ...
Wayne Winegarden
June 2, 2019
Business & Economics
Read Wealth Professional Story on Wayne Winegarden ESG Study
Putting a question mark on ESG fund performance by Leo Almazora An increasing number of stakeholders are buying into sustainable investments, figuratively and literally. Aside from fund providers’ growing willingness to offer values-based investment products, there’s a rising clamour from investors who want their money placed in companies with strong ESG ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 23, 2019
Business & Economics
New Study Finds ESG Funds Underperform Broader Investment Funds Over Long-Term
ESG funds that champion environmental and social causes have historically underperformed funds investing in the broader market over the long-term, so finds a new study released today by California-based, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. “In recent years, ESG funds have been presented to investors as socially responsible as ...
Wayne H Winegarden
May 22, 2019
Blog
What We’re Watching – How Entrepreneurship Can Alleviate Poverty in Africa
Ben Smithwick – How Entrepreneurship Can Alleviate Poverty in Africa Magatte Wade is one of the most prominent female African entrepreneurs. In this TED Talk, Wade discusses the challenges of doing business in her native Senegal and shares her vision for how entrepreneurship can help alleviate poverty in Africa. Tim ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 10, 2019
Business & Economics
Watch Wayne Winegarden Speak on Proxy Advisory Firms & ESG Investing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=L-va5HLzTcs Watch PRI Senior Fellow in Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden speak at a forum in Washington, DC hosted by the Institute for Pension Fund Integrity on public pensions, proxy advisory firms, and ESG investing. Also speaking at the forum, which was moderated by Christopher Burnham, President, Institute for Pension ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 8, 2019
Business & Economics
Public Pension Funds’ Sole Responsibility Is To Secure The Retirement Of Public Sector Workers
State and local public pension funds are trillions of dollars in debt. Without fully accounting for the risks, state public pension funds have $1.4 trillion in unfunded liabilities (e.g. debt) according to the Pew Center’s latest estimates. Even more troubling, this debt is still growing. The sole priority of a public pension ...
Wayne Winegarden
February 14, 2019
Blog
Proxy Advisory Firms Are Worsening CalPERS and CalSTRS ESG Problem
My last blog post discussed the risks that ESG investing creates for CalPERS and CalSTRS. If not addressed, then both taxpayers and public employees will bear unnecessary costs and risks. Unfortunately, SEC rules are making this problem even worse. The SEC requires all institutional investors, such as CalPERS and CalSTRS, ...
Wayne Winegarden
December 11, 2018
Blog
The ESG Threat to California’s Pensions
California’s public pensions are in trouble. While the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that California’s current unfunded liabilities are nearly $170 billion, as I recently reported in my chartbook on California’s pension crisis, the crisis is much worse. Valuing the liabilities using a more realistic market rate, the total pension debt ...
Wayne Winegarden
December 5, 2018
CalPERS & CalSTRS Report Lower Than Expected Returns – Is ESG One Reason Why?
CalPERS and CalSTRS – the two largest public employee pension funds in both California and the nation –just announced their annual investment returns for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Once again, it’s not good news for California taxpayers. Both funds reported that their respective net return of investments came in under ...
Are ESG Funds a Proxy for the Green New Deal?
After being soundly defeated in the Senate 0-57 (43 Democrats voted “present”), the Green New Deal continues to languish in the House. Roll Call reported the following excuse from Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “I can’t say we’re going to take that and pass it because we have to go through our ...
Are ESG Funds A Good, Long-Term Investment?
One of the hottest investment trends promises to do well while by doing good. This investment trend is called environmental, social, and governance investing, or ESG funds. Not all ESG funds have similar investment strategies. Some ESG funds actively invest in companies that meet specific environmental or social criteria. These ...
Read Wealth Professional Story on Wayne Winegarden ESG Study
Putting a question mark on ESG fund performance by Leo Almazora An increasing number of stakeholders are buying into sustainable investments, figuratively and literally. Aside from fund providers’ growing willingness to offer values-based investment products, there’s a rising clamour from investors who want their money placed in companies with strong ESG ...
New Study Finds ESG Funds Underperform Broader Investment Funds Over Long-Term
ESG funds that champion environmental and social causes have historically underperformed funds investing in the broader market over the long-term, so finds a new study released today by California-based, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. “In recent years, ESG funds have been presented to investors as socially responsible as ...
What We’re Watching – How Entrepreneurship Can Alleviate Poverty in Africa
Ben Smithwick – How Entrepreneurship Can Alleviate Poverty in Africa Magatte Wade is one of the most prominent female African entrepreneurs. In this TED Talk, Wade discusses the challenges of doing business in her native Senegal and shares her vision for how entrepreneurship can help alleviate poverty in Africa. Tim ...
Watch Wayne Winegarden Speak on Proxy Advisory Firms & ESG Investing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=L-va5HLzTcs Watch PRI Senior Fellow in Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden speak at a forum in Washington, DC hosted by the Institute for Pension Fund Integrity on public pensions, proxy advisory firms, and ESG investing. Also speaking at the forum, which was moderated by Christopher Burnham, President, Institute for Pension ...
Public Pension Funds’ Sole Responsibility Is To Secure The Retirement Of Public Sector Workers
State and local public pension funds are trillions of dollars in debt. Without fully accounting for the risks, state public pension funds have $1.4 trillion in unfunded liabilities (e.g. debt) according to the Pew Center’s latest estimates. Even more troubling, this debt is still growing. The sole priority of a public pension ...
Proxy Advisory Firms Are Worsening CalPERS and CalSTRS ESG Problem
My last blog post discussed the risks that ESG investing creates for CalPERS and CalSTRS. If not addressed, then both taxpayers and public employees will bear unnecessary costs and risks. Unfortunately, SEC rules are making this problem even worse. The SEC requires all institutional investors, such as CalPERS and CalSTRS, ...
The ESG Threat to California’s Pensions
California’s public pensions are in trouble. While the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that California’s current unfunded liabilities are nearly $170 billion, as I recently reported in my chartbook on California’s pension crisis, the crisis is much worse. Valuing the liabilities using a more realistic market rate, the total pension debt ...