Market Insights

Incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment analysis can identify risks and opportunities in the market. But investors desiring to improve the world around them must go a step further. Engaging with companies to address ESG issues plays an important role in creating a sustainable future.

This year, we’ve been impressed by progress on the engagement front, as key shareholder initiatives driven by Dana and other investors will force transparency at one of the world’s largest energy firms: Exxon Mobil. This blog looks at that engagement effort, and its implications.

Environmental, Social and Governance investing has grown considerably in the past five years, but there’s more than one inroad leading clients to the space. Is it a desire to improve the environment? A chance to address social justice issues? Or does your client see ESG primarily as a pathway to potentially better returns and less risk?

Should I take money off the table? It’s a natural question every time stocks hit a valley or peak.

But timing markets often lead to bad results. Stepping to the sidelines when stocks plumb new lows often means missing the rebound. And moving to cash to preserve gains when stocks hit new records can mean missing out when markets had more room to run.

During a career that has spanned more than 20 years at Dana Investments, portfolio manager Duane Roberts has seen management teams’ attitudes toward ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) issues change considerably. In a brief interview, he reflected on how the tenor of management teams has changed, particularly in recent years. Excerpts from that interview follow:

In a competitive investment management environment, every asset manager must seek differentiated ways to add value for clients.

At Dana, we take several steps within the idea generation, portfolio construction and risk management process that we believe distinguishes our strategies. This excerpt from a Q&A with our portfolio managers shares how we arrive at different investment ideas:

While the U.S. economy continues to rebound, the Delta variant remains a wildcard to growth potential in the coming quarters. With the virus on everyone’s minds, we wanted to provide you a front row seat to what management teams are saying about the variant, and how it is affecting their business or the broader economy.

Confused by all the various ESG nomenclature? You’re probably not alone. By some counts, as many as 80 different terms are used to define ESG investing. ^*

Amid the alphabet soup, advisors can establish themselves as a trusted guide for interested investors. Our newest ESG FAQ can help.

Are ESG strategies more about the companies you avoid, or the companies you change? It’s a key difference among ESG funds, and could be a key difference in what your clients want from ESG investing.

Some strategies are focused more heavily on exclusionary investing – using ratings and screens to “weed out” companies that have a heavy carbon footprint or score poorly on other social or governance metrics. Simply avoiding those companies may in fact be the approach your client wants.

Editor’s note: Our health care sector outlook is part of a regular series sharing our views on various sectors. It’s part of our efforts to increase communication with investors at a time of economic and market uncertainty. While the sector outlooks provide a short overview of our thinking, we invite you to contact us if you are interested in a deeper discussion.

In a sector as large and diverse as health care, only one sweeping statement can be applied across the entire investable universe: Fundamentals are at an inflection point.

As more assets flow into ESG strategies, the space has had an impact on several facets of society, with a new mega-trend every year. In a recent call with clients, Portfolio Manager Duane Roberts reflected on where ESG trends have already taken us, and where they are going:

Duane Roberts: “I'll go back three years, and it seems like every year there's a new theme in ESG. Three years ago, it was transitioning away from fossil fuels and what's the pathway to get there, and how does our portfolio align with those projections, and are the companies in the portfolio making the changes necessary. Last year for some fairly obvious reasons, diversity equity, and inclusion, which was always a subject of concern for ESG, jumped from being one of the topics to being the top topic.