Story of the Week: August 2022

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August 27, 2022 - U of Texas Endowment Blows Past Yale, Challenges Harvard as Richest in Nation, Thanks to Oil Investments
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 08: A view of the campus of Harvard University on July 08, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have sued the Trump administration for its decision to strip international college students of their visas if all of their courses are held online. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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August 27, 2022 - U of Texas Endowment Blows Past Yale, Challenges Harvard as Richest in Nation, Thanks to Oil Investments

U of Texas Endowment Blows Past Yale, Challenges Harvard as Richest in Nation, Thanks to Oil Investments by Tyler Durden Appeared in Zerohedge on August 24, 2022 Gina's Thoughts "While ivy league universities like Harvard are busy virtue signaling about how they won't be including fossil fuel investments in their endowments, one university has been ignoring the ESG pressure - and has seen its endowment rise to the second largest in the US as a result." In the oil-rich and oil-reliant state of Texas, divestment is not discussed and this has led to a burgeoning endowment fund for the University of Texas. In fact, in response to divestment calls, the University's management company points to a clause in its investment policy statements, which says that The University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) is prohibited from using any funds to "achieve temporal benefits for any purpose including use of its economic power to advance social or political purposes." InvestNow would like to see such clauses make their way into Canadian University investment policy statements. Let's get back to fiduciary duty being at the top of the list for making investment decisions. In the words of William Goetzmann, a professor of finance and management studies at Yale University's School of Management, "Adjusting your portfolio for social concerns is not costless."
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August 20, 2022 - The ESG Investing Backlash Arrives
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August 20, 2022 - The ESG Investing Backlash Arrives

The ESG Investing Backlash Arrives by The Editorial Board Appeared in The Wall Street Journal on August 15, 2022 Gina's Thoughts The pushback against ESG investing has begun. The ESG movement has infiltrated investment standards with little scrutiny for several years. This week, about 20 state Attorney Generals signed an eight page letter to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. They are seeking answers from BlackRock about its political agenda. "The letter is significant politically and financially. These AGs represent states with public pension funds that invest in BlackRock and other funds on behalf of state employees. The states need to know they are getting the best financial returns possible in the market to meet their commitments to retirees. "Based on the facts currently available to us, BlackRock appears to use the hard earned money of our states' citizens to circumvent the best possible return on investment, as well as their vote," says the AGs' letter." With the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index returning 97.82% over one year, it does seem that the best possible return on investment has been circumvented, all in the name of divestment and ESG.
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