It’s likewise complicated for E.S.G. funds that screen out defense contractors. I spoke with Andrew Montes, the director of digital strategies for As You Sow, a nonprofit based in Berkeley, Calif., that focuses on corporate accountability. He said: “We unequivocally condemn the invasion, and the Ukrainians have a right to defend themselves. But it’s a separate question if defense stocks belong in the portfolio.” Read More →
Read MoreIt certainly does to Andrew Behar, the chief executive of As You Sow, an advocacy and research group that frequently files shareholder proxy proposals on E.S.G. issues.
“We don’t think that you should have any weapons systems in an E.S.G. fund,” he said. The group provides an online tool on the web site Weapon Free Funds that enables investors to screen mutual funds and exchange-traded funds on this issue. Read More →
Read MoreOne of the most popular and easy-to-use tools is the online investment assessment tool from AsYouSow.org, “a non-profit foundation chartered to promote corporate social responsibility through shareholder advocacy,” called “Invest Your Values.” As You Sow promotes what it calls its “theory of change,” that forcing corporate leadership to address the impact of their policies and actions actually reduces the risk to corporations and shareholders. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar once again pens a letter to BlackRock’s CEO.
I particularly appreciate the creation of the “Center for Stakeholder Capitalism” as it answers the request As You Sow made in two shareholder resolutions for an implementation plan of the Business Roundtable pledge. This is exactly what we were looking for. You have my gratitude and personal offer to assist in any way to, “bring together leading CEOs, investors, policy experts, and academics to share their experience and deliver their insights”.
Read MoreBut even easier, you can use the databases compiled by the corporate accountability and shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow—its Invest Your Values website offers several invaluable search tools for weighing the ethical and financial performance of up to 3,000 funds, updated monthly. Read More →
Read More“There are layers of intermediaries [in 401ks],” says Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, an ESG shareholder advocacy group. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, explains that many companies who sponsor 401(k) plans are contradicting their own stated sustainability goals. Read More →
Read More“There’s a fundamental problem, which is the SEC allows you to name funds that don’t necessarily reflect what’s inside the fund,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder advocacy group. Read More →
Read MoreAs You Sow, a non-profit focusing on corporate social responsibility, offers an online tool that compares where funds rank with regard to criteria such as deforestation, fossil fuels, gender equality, guns, weapons, tobacco and prisons. Read More →
Read More"Most employees across the nation are unaware their retirement plan investments are profiting from environmentally and socially risky companies," As You Sow said in the report. "The financial risks include stranded assets, reputational risk, and other negative impacts of unsustainable business practices that can destroy shareholder value." Read More →
Read MoreIts latest tool evaluates specific companies’ 401(k) offerings. “There’s $10 trillion of assets, owned by 100 million people, that need to be looked at,” says Andy Behar, As You Sow's CEO. Read More →
Read MoreAs You Sow will scrutinize the S&P 500, arguing that companies with big Earth-friendly pledges, including Amazon and Comcast, offer funds full of polluters or social inequity. Read More →
Read MoreAs You Sow’s Invest Your Values tools allow consumers to see which companies are part of their funds and decide if the holdings align with their values, such as climate issues, gender equality, guns, tobacco and more. Read More →
Read MoreWhat the companies and large money managers did not mention is the entire ‘shareholder advocacy’ community of professionals. This includes faith-based, impact, and socially responsible investors, as well as non-profit shareholder advocates like As You Sow, the organisation of which I am CEO. Read More →
Read MoreIt may not be readily apparent how a fund incorporates ESG factors into its strategy. Take the BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF, which attracted $1.25 billion of investor dollars when it launched in mid April. “The people who invested in that fund thought they were addressing climate risk,” says Andrew Behar, CEO of shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow. “Instead they got business as usual,” he says, including energy and fossil fuel giants. Read More →
Read MoreAs You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes corporate social responsibility, also created the Invest Your Values search tools, which investors can use to learn more about their investments. Investors can search the name or symbol of mutual funds or ETFs in one of six search tools, including Deforestation Free Funds and Fossil Free Funds, and will be provided with a "report card" on the fund related to the issue. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar is the CEO of the nonprofit As You Sow, a watchdog and investor advocacy group that provides resources for those interested in more socially responsible investing. As You Sow's Invest Your Values tool helps investors rate and reference where their money is going, and covers a wide range of topics: environmentally-friendly investing, gender equality funds, prison-free funds, and gun and other weapon-free funds. Read More →
Read More“As You Sow, has been offering proxy voting guidelines for many years,” Andrew Behar, As You Sow's CEO, said in a statement. “The guidelines have always been suggestions on how a progressive foundation or impact investor might want to vote…” Read More →
Read More“Most people don’t have a clue what they own,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a corporate accountability group that pushes companies and institutional investors to adopt socially responsible practices through pressure from shareholders. “I did a talk at the World Bank, and I showed them their 401(k)s were invested in cluster munitions and landmines. But they didn’t know!” Read More →
Read MoreIf you’re ready to consider aligning your investments more closely with your values, research firm As You Sow provides a free action toolkit to move your money if not supporting private prisons is one of your passions. Read More →
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