Viewpoints: February 2021
Welcome to Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others.
Economic and Investment News Bits
- Winter is Here: Over 2.5 million homes remain without power in Texas as local gas and electric companies continue to struggle with increased demand for energy amidst the winter storm. Many were forced to partially shut down the power grid on their own instead of trying to deal with losing functionality as a whole (Source: WSJ)
- Set for Life: After only 2 years in the Majors, Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres agreed to a 14 year, $340 million dollar contract extension yesterday. This marks the third largest MLB contract in history behind only Mike Trout and Mookie Betts. He is 22 years old (Source: ESPN)
- Finally, Some Good Covid News: Covid-19 cases have been plummeting over the last two weeks here in and Ohio and across the United States. Average daily first doses of the vaccine remain just under 1 million over the last 7 days. At the current rate, 50% of the US population should be received their first vaccine dose by the July 4th weekend. Ohio ranks 34th and 33rd in percent of population who have received one shot (11.3%) and two shots (4.2%), respectively (Source: NY Times)
- Sustainability is Key: In a letter to clients, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated all companies they invest in are expected to disclose direct emissions from operations and from purchased energy. The ultimate goal is to target net-zero emissions in their portfolio by 2050. BlackRock has over $8 trillion in assets under management (Source: MarketWatch)
What is ESG?
ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. It’s the overarching term used to define some type of sustainable investing. For companies, this means seeking positive returns for shareholders while having positive, long-term impacts on the society and the environment. Screening companies and funds based on ESG has become much more popular over the years. In fact, Morningstar reported a record $51 billion in net flows in 2020 to sustainably focused funds. More than double the flows of 2019.
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