{"id":619541,"date":"2023-03-18T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-18T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/18\/are-oil-stocks-too-good-for-esg-investors-to-pass-up\/"},"modified":"2023-03-18T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-18T23:00:00","slug":"are-oil-stocks-too-good-for-esg-investors-to-pass-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/18\/are-oil-stocks-too-good-for-esg-investors-to-pass-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Oil Stocks Too Good For ESG Investors To Pass Up?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pagecontent\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"singleArticle__sidebar\">\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d32r1sh890xpii.cloudfront.net\/avatars\/medium\/e32c0481fd5347b2402e1155623ab61c.jpg\" alt=\"Irina Slav\" title=\"Irina Slav\" previous-src=\"data:image\/png;base64,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\"><\/p>\n<p>Irina Slav<\/p>\n<p>Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oilprice.com\/contributors\/Irina-Slav\">More Info<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Premium Content<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <\/ul>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"singleArticle__content\" data-spons=\"0\" data-id=\"33206\">\n<p><span>By <a href=\"https:\/\/oilprice.com\/contributors\/Irina-Slav\">Irina Slav<\/a> &#8211; Mar 18, 2023, 6:00 PM CDT<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"key_points\">\n<ul>\n<li>Energy stocks gained a total of 135 percent over 2021 and 2022 and are on track to add another 22 percent this year, according to analysts cited by Bloomberg.<\/li>\n<li>With such a gap between energy stock performance and the broader market, it&#8217;s not surprising that ESG-minded investors are tempted by energy stocks.<\/li>\n<li>Not everyone appears to even be sure what ESG actually is amid the heated debate about ESG investing in the U.S.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-content\">\n<p><html><body><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know that the transition will not be a straight line. Different countries and industries will move at different speeds, and oil and gas will play a vital role in meeting global energy demands through that journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is what BlackRock\u2019s chief executive, Larry Fink, <a href=\"http:\/\/oilprice.com\/Latest-Energy-News\/World-News\/Blackrock-CEO-Fink-Oil-Gas-Is-Vital-In-Meeting-Energy-Needs.html\">wrote<\/a> in this year\u2019s annual letter to shareholders. For such a fervent supporter of the energy transition, Fink\u2019s admission of the vital role that oil and gas would continue to play in the world\u2019s functioning may have been surprising at any other time.<\/p>\n<p>Yet it came amid a wave of changing sentiment in the investment world. And this change is seeing investors rush back from ESG stocks to oil and gas.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, BlackRock\u2019s peer Vanguard quit a net-zero banking alliance\u2014the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative\u2014claiming it needed more clarity and independence concerning its environmental, social, and governance commitments to clients.<\/p>\n<p>Also last year, global lenders including JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley warned they would leave a UN-backed net-zero initiative for the financial sector\u2014the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero\u2014because their membership in it could end up violating U.S. antitrust legislation.<\/p>\n<p>In fairness, the latter warning came as a result of a political pushback against ESG investing in the US. Conservative states targeted asset managers and banks that were making loud proclamations about their ESG plans that, by definition, would include reducing their exposure to oil and gas. Since for many of these states oil and gas are vital revenue contributors, the idea of such reduced exposure did not sit well.<\/p>\n<p>Yet it\u2019s not just a political pushback. Investors themselves are beginning to be in two minds about their dedication to ESG investments. Because while Larry Fink and his peers continue to reiterate their commitment to net zero and the transition, they are seeing very well where oil and gas stocks have moved over the past two years.<\/p>\n<p>Energy stocks gained a total of 135 percent over 2021 and 2022 and are on track to add another 22 percent this year, according to analysts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bnnbloomberg.ca\/esg-investors-best-intentions-slam-into-surging-oil-stocks-1.1895926\">cited<\/a> by Bloomberg. This surge compares with a not-so-impressive 5-percent gain for the S&#038;P 500 over the two-year period.<\/p>\n<p>With such a gap between energy stock performance and the broader market, it is not really surprising that investors previously committed exclusively to what is being advertised pretty much as the only ethical, responsible form of investment are now changing their attitudes.<\/p>\n<p>Rockefeller Capital Management, Bloomberg reported this week, has a 6-percent energy weighting despite its dedication to ESG investing. The firm\u2019s energy weighting is larger than the S&#038;P 500\u2019s, where energy stocks represent 4.8 percent of the total, the report notes.<\/p>\n<p>Clients at Rockefeller\u2019s wealth management unit, meanwhile, have boosted their combined holdings in the oil and gas industry, buying stocks in Exxon, Chevron, Petrobras, Diamond Energy, and all other public oil and gas companies regardless of size.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s self-evident that the excellent performance of oil and gas stocks during the last two years was one big reason why investors are once again paying attention to them. Another reason is the <a href=\"http:\/\/oilprice.com\/Energy\/Energy-General\/ESG-Investing-From-Top-Opportunity-To-Risk.html\">emergence<\/a> of doubts and misgivings about the profitability of ESG investments.<\/p>\n<p>Returns have been called into question, as have the green credentials of companies advertising as ESG-friendly. Not everyone is convinced that ESG investing is the only true path to the future world of profits. Not everyone appears to even be sure what ESG actually is amid the heated debate about ESG investing in the U.S. And this may lead to lawsuits.<\/p>\n<p>According to this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.responsible-investor.com\/esg-backlash-will-spark-rush-of-litigation-says-leading-lawyer\/\">report<\/a> in Responsible Investor, the debate could unleash a wave of litigation as investors seek clarity about the nature of ESG or seek to get compensation for unprofitable decisions made by their financial advisers on ESG grounds.<\/p>\n<p>Such a development would likely compromise ESG as a concept further\u2014financial advisers are not fans of litigation and might begin to think twice before advertising this or that investment as both ESG and profitable when it isn\u2019t, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gisreportsonline.com\/r\/esg-2\/\">pointed out<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2022\/03\/an-inconvenient-truth-about-esg-investing\">critics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that our industry is going through a time where the consumers of these products could benefit from additional clarification,\u201d\u00a0the chief marketing officer of Parnassus Investments told Bloomberg. The firm has no oil and gas holdings, but pressure on the industry to reconsider has been growing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cESG funds pay a higher expense ratio. If you start showing a negative tracking error because you don\u2019t hold energy, you\u2019re going to close down the fund at some point,\u201d\u00a0accounting and auditing professor Shivaram Rajgopal from the Columbia Business School told Bloomberg.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, if you\u2019re only delivering on half of the promise\u2014sustainable investment\u2014but not on the other half\u2014profits\u2014the most natural thing for investors would be to insist on changes that rectify the situation. Because investing is not charity. It is an activity seeking a profit.<\/p>\n<p>By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com<\/p>\n<p><strong>More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/oilprice.com\/Latest-Energy-News\/World-News\/Xi-Set-To-Meet-With-Putin-In-Moscow-Next-Week.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Xi Set To Meet With Putin In Moscow Next Week<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/oilprice.com\/Energy\/Energy-General\/The-Oil-Price-Collapse-Continues-After-Brief-Respite.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Oil Price Collapse Continues After Brief Respite<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/oilprice.com\/Energy\/Energy-General\/A-North-Sea-Hydrogen-Pipeline-Network-Is-Possible.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A North Sea Hydrogen Pipeline Network Is Possible<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/body><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t    <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t    <\/html><\/div>\n<div>\n<h5>Download The Free Oilprice App Today<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/in\/app\/oilprice\/id1389772617?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"169\" height=\"50\" src=\"https:\/\/d1o9e4un86hhpc.cloudfront.net\/a\/img\/cl\/app\/appstoredownload.svg\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=oilprice.android.app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"169\" height=\"50\" src=\"https:\/\/d1o9e4un86hhpc.cloudfront.net\/a\/img\/cl\/app\/androidbutton.png\" previous-src=\"https:\/\/d1o9e4un86hhpc.cloudfront.net\/a\/img\/cl\/app\/androidbutton.png\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oilprice.com\/\">Back to homepage<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d32r1sh890xpii.cloudfront.net\/avatars\/medium\/e32c0481fd5347b2402e1155623ab61c.jpg\" alt=\"Irina Slav\" title=\"Irina Slav\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>Irina Slav<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t            Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry.\t          <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oilprice.com\/contributors\/Irina-Slav\">More Info<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Related posts<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/oilprice.com\/#\" id=\"join-discussion\">Leave a comment<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oilprice.com\/Energy\/Energy-General\/Are-Oil-Stocks-Too-Good-For-ESG-Investors-To-Pass-Up.html\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Sharie Grumbles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Irina Slav Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. More Info Premium Content By Irina Slav &#8211; Mar 18, 2023, 6:00 PM CDT Energy stocks gained a total of 135 percent over 2021 and 2022 and are on track to add another 22 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":619542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[534,23976,22243],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-619541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-financial","8":"category-investors","9":"category-stocks"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}