You have watched as ESG has become a force in markets, propelling the desires of woke money managers to the forefront of the conversation in markets. Now there are signs that investors have had enough, or almost enough, of “environmental, social, and governance” focused products that give money managers all the control that is supposed to belong to shareholders. A new survey of investment professionals by Bloomberg finds that they’re not very interested in ESG at all. Tim Quinson reports for Bloomberg:
The outlook for ESG is getting bleaker based on the results of Bloomberg’s latest industry survey.
Most Bloomberg terminal clients taking the survey expect ESG funds to underperform general market benchmarks in the next year, while a growing number say ESG is nothing more than a passing fad.
Bloomberg recently concluded its second survey of terminal clients to get their views about environmental, social and governance principles. The results were broadly similar to the first survey at the end of last year, though clients “not directly engaged” in ESG are becoming increasingly more skeptical about the investment strategy than those who “are engaged.”
For example, almost 90% of 116 Bloomberg terminal clients who aren’t directly engaged with ESG expect the sector’s investment funds to lag behind market benchmarks in the next year, and 55% of 181 terminal clients who are engaged in ESG — and have more skin in the game — also are pessimistic.
The pessimism doesn’t end there. Almost 70% of those who aren’t involved directly in ESG say the investment strategy is nothing more than a fad, while just 18% of those who are engaged expect ESG issues to become more critical in business and markets, down from 25% in the earlier survey.
Action Line: Investors deserve better than to have their voting rights taken away and used to support someone else’s political ideology. When you want to talk about a portfolio of individual securities that keeps you in control, I’m here.
