Category: SRI

Climate change, economy, entrepreneurship, environment, ESG, life insurance, new economy, protection, retirement, risk management, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

Embracing the Future: An Interview with Charlotte Markward

James Cox

I met Charlotte and her Husband Randy years ago at a Green Drinks in Philadelphia. It was before the days of Tesla, widespread solar power and organic food sections at the grocery store. People got together to share a beer and dream about a future that would be more sustainable. Things have changed a great deal in the past few years.

Charlotte is a graphic designer based in Philadelphia. She has agreed to share some of her experiences and insights so that we all might have an easier path to financial security.

Charlotte has been interested in supporting socially responsible investing for many years. I asked her what it means to her. Charlotte said, “For one thing it’s smart. We have a finite amount of resources and we are running out of them. To continue doing things in the old ways is to set yourself up for failure. Green investment is where the growth will be.”

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diversity, economy, ESG, risk management, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

Diversity Matters… Especially In Business

James Cox

Even before the economic crisis wrought by the Coronavirus, the economy is changing at a rapid pace. Companies in many sectors that have been pillars of the economy have fallen on hard times. Companies that were leaders in industrial America have seen their market cap fall by 2/3rds in the past year. Leaders in retail have closed hundreds of stores and laid off thousands of people. Even technology companies that started off strong in the past 10 years have suffered setbacks in the past year due to corporate governance issues.

As technology advances, the challenge for businesses to stay competitive becomes amplified. In the last 3 years, advances in robotics and AI (Artificial Intelligence) have significantly added to the bottom line of companies. That pace of change seems to be accelerating.

A recent Mckinsey & Company report titled Delivering Through Diversity reinforces the business case for diversity. “The statistically significant correlation between a more diverse leadership team and financial outperformance demonstrated three years ago continues to hold true on an updated, enlarged, and global data set.” (1)

Learning how to deal with this change is a crucial issue for businesses.

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Climate change, economy, environment, ESG, risk management, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

US intelligence agencies warn about managing risks in a climate changed world

James Cox

A recent report by the US national intelligence agencies raised the issue of Climate Change and the impact they expect it to have on global stability.

“The nation’s intelligence agencies are warning, in the annual Worldwide Threat Assessment, of global instability if climate change continues unabated, according to a report submitted for a hearing Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.”

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entrepreneurship, new economy, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world’: A Speech to Cooperative Impact 2015, Princeton 5/14/2015

James Cox

Several years ago, I was asked to give an opening keynote speech to a gathering of social innovation entrepreneurs. The message I think is one that continues to be relevant…

We are on the edge of the greatest entrepreneurial revolution in the history of mankind.

The internet, the “cloud”, on-demand shipping, social media, Linked In… All are changing how we relate to each other economically and socially.

As entrepreneurs we are on the cutting edge. We all know entrepreneurs are a special subset of people and “social entrepreneurs” even more so.

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Climate change, economy, environment, ESG, retirement, risk management, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

Climate Concerns Rise, but Energy Sector is Fighting Back…

James Cox

In the past year Climate Change has become a focus of central concern for people worldwide. Warnings have been issued by IPCC that we need to collectively and drastically reduce our use of fossil fuels within 10 years in order to avoid the worst impacts of a rise in temperatures above 1.5 degrees.

Institutions are joining in the demand for change.

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Climate change, diversity, environment, ESG, retirement, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

What is Socially Responsible Investing?

James Cox

I have recently had several people ask me about SRI. What is it? Why does it matter?

The first thing to understand is SRI means different things to different people. Several years ago I attended a gathering of advisors focused on sustainability at the Bloomberg headquarters in NYC. I talked to many of the 300 attendees and what I found was every single person had a different interpretation of what SRI meant.

Some focused on promoting clean energy, some focused on workers issues and inequality, some focused on climate change, some look to exclude alcohol and tobacco, others focused on micro lending. Each focus is unique and approaches the challenge of investing with different assumptions.

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Climate change, economy, environment, ESG, interest rates, retirement, risk management, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

Mixed Economic Signals, Debt Issues and Fossil Fuel Companies

James Cox

Several years ago, Bloomberg Businessweek did a bio pic on Hank Paulson, Bush’s Treasury secretary who served during the Financial Crisis of 2008. After reviewing the events that led to the Crisis, connecting the dots, and seeing the impact of what happened, Paulson had this to say at the end of the film…

“The whole reason I’m doing this, is not because I want to look back, but because I have increasingly come to the view that it’s important that there be a historical record for those that come after me, so we don’t replay this movie all over again.” (1)

Fast-forward to November 2019, and we see many positive and negative conditions developing that raise questions about the longevity of the 10-year bull market in stocks and the health of the US economy.

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Climate change, environment, ESG, retirement, risk management, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

Socially Responsible Investing Grows

James Cox

“Integrity is the essence of everything successful” -Buckminster Fuller

One of the benefits of the information age is the ability to make rational judgements about companies that you invest in. To the degree that a company fails to meet an investors expectations of what is acceptable, a company or industry becomes un-investable.

“Sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) is an investment discipline that considers environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria to generate long-term competitive financial returns and positive societal impact.” (1)

A recent study by the US Sustainable Investment Finance Foundation revealed the tremendous growth in sustainable investing.

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Climate change, economy, environment, income, retirement, risk management, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

Rising Seas and the Risk to Retirees

James Cox

Florida has always been considered a favorite retirement destination. The warmer climate attracting older American’s who have health issues ranging from Asthma to Arthritis, from Heart Disease to Parkinson’s. 20% of Florida’s population is over age 65 (compared to only 15% in New Jersey).

An additional challenge facing retirees in both Florida and New Jersey is climate change risk due to rising seas, storm surge and the potential loss of property in coastal communities.

In 2013, hurricane Sandy delivered a wake-up call to many about the danger to real estate as a result of hurricane force winds and storm surge. This past summer it looked to be Florida’s turn. Hurricanes Irma and Maria threatened to make landfall in Florida with devastating force.

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Climate change, economy, environment, ESG, retirement, risk management, Socially Responsible Investing, SRI

Divestment From Fossil Fuels Gathers Steam

James Cox

As an investor in todays economy, you have a say in what companies you invest in and support. By investing in a company, you are effectively voting with your dollars.

By the same token, as an investor you also have the right to the purposefully refuse to invest in a specific company or industry. Perhaps you disagree with their business model or you oppose the negative impacts they are having on society. This act of withholding investment is at the core of “Divestment”.

Without access to capital markets, fossil fuel companies cannot finance their operations. As fewer buyers come in to buy shares of fossil fuel companies, the potential value of these companies decline.

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