Market Insights

With a 20-year history in ESG investing, Dana was one of the earliest entrants in the space. It all started with a request from a group of nuns.

Dana’s ESG story began at the tail end of 1999. We were working with a group of nuns who needed equity exposure. This group held zero equities in 1999, so we got them comfortable with moving into holding stocks, but they had some values-based controls that they wanted to place on their portfolio. They wanted their investments to align with their Catholic values, so they didn’t want to hold alcohol, tobacco or firearms companies. They needed to be sure there were no pornography publishers among their holdings. They’re nuns. It was a must for them and we understood.

Of the thousands of mutual fund managers in operation today, there are countless opinions on quantitative versus fundamental analysis. Many managers use a combination of the two. Let’s dig into both disciplines and touch on the strengths and weaknesses of each. 

Many Catholic investors utilize values-based portfolios to align their wealth with their beliefs. But there are plenty of other merits to Catholic investing. By aligning to what one believes in, investors may have more conviction, and are more willing take a long-term view with their holdings.

At Dana, engagement remains a core tenet of our ESG investing philosophy. We know clients don’t just want us to evaluate the risks a company faces due to environmental, social and governance issues, but to push companies, industries and governments for improvement. For larger-scale issues, these efforts are often more effective when a group of investors works collaboratively.

Over our 20+ year history in ESG investing, we’ve seen interest grow considerably, particularly in the past few years. As part of our own stewardship efforts to raise awareness, we have tried to arm advisors with the tools they need for their own practice, including items that could educate their clients on ESG investing.

Before jumping into 2022, we wanted to take a quick look back at 2021, sharing three of our most read blogs from the year. Many are still relevant today, covering the key themes and trends that continue to hover over markets.

It’s a question that comes up often with ESG investing. In the long run, is it better to divest and avoid oil and gas companies that are responsible for high carbon emissions, or try to get them to change course? At Dana, we’ve chosen the engagement route, encouraging oil companies to clean up their act and pivot away from fossil fuels.

The end of the year or beginning of the new one is a natural time for clients, advisors, and consultants to discuss portfolio goals. Given growing interest in ESG investing, this is a topic that is bound to come up in many conversations.

Catholic investors have a long past in responsible investing. The church added a new page to that history this month, and Dana Investment Advisors was honored to play a role in the process.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has updated its responsible investment guidelines. The church conducted its review with input from Catholic investors within the investment industry, including Dana’s Portfolio Manager Duane Roberts.

Style boxes have been a part of many asset allocation models for decades, but it might be time to break away. Current dynamics for both growth and value indices make style box investing seem riskier.

Below are five reasons investors may want to break away from style boxes, in favor of a more balanced and more simplistic, core equity strategy, which has broad market exposure to both styles, and invests in companies that have both growth and value characteristics: