SUSL

Interview with SDM Investments’ Kevin Truitt — ESG in a Few Words: “Good Ethics, Honesty, Respect, and Dignity”

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Image: SDM Investments’ Kevin Truitt (left) and Valuentum’s Brian Nelson (right) pause for a picture at the Chicago Chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors (December 2016). Brian Nelson, CFA: We’d like to introduce Kevin Truitt, manager in charge of the equity investments at SDM Investments, an investment management firm based in Merrillville, Indiana.  Kevin and I have been friends for more than a decade now, and he’s even written an article about combining value and momentum investing in the AAII Journal a number of years ago, “Investing’s Odd Couple: Value and Momentum.”  Kevin, thanks for sharing your knowledge, wisdom, and experience with us. With that said, let’s get right into the questions. Can you provide some background about … Read more

Putting the Environmental in ESG

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Valuentum’s ESG newsletter helps identify which stocks have strong ESG scores, and which ones come up short. Subscribe to the monthly Valuentum ESG Newsletter today by selecting the ‘Subscribe’ button below (12 editions, $1,000/year).   —– By Valuentum Analysts There is no single definition for ESG investing beyond the words that make up the acronym – Environmental, Social, and Governance. Investors looking at ESG may be doing so for a variety of reasons with a variety of different needs. But for every investor, a focus on ESG allows for a fuller consideration of the company, as a whole, as well as how that company impacts the 21st century landscape, as it relates to rewarding social responsibility by investing in companies … Read more

Interview with Valuentum’s Callum Turcan

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Callum Turcan helps head up Valuentum’s research product and is co-editor of the company’s newsletters. We sat down with Callum to get his thoughts on new developments in the market and economy. Let’s kick things off with his thoughts on the recent Berkshire/Dominion deal. Callum: Interesting deal with Dominion (D) and one that likely fits in with Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A/BRK.B) long-term utility/infrastructure strategy in North America. Berkshire has steadily grown its wind power generation business over the past decade, but until battery storage technology progresses further (with an eye towards the need for serious cost reductions), natural gas will continue to be used to meet electricity demand when wind turbines are operating at reduced capacity (and in general, as new … Read more

Governance: The G in ESG Investing

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By Valuentum Analysts No discussion of ESG investing would be complete without addressing the role of corporate governance (“stewardship”) in equity investing. As with the other aspects of ESG investing, corporate governance covers a lot of ground. It can include pretty much anything related to how a company is run, including leadership, executive compensation, audits and accounting, and shareholder rights. These areas are just the tip of the iceberg, however.  A company with good corporate governance is one that is run well with the proper incentives and with all stakeholders in mind, from employees to suppliers to customers to shareholders and beyond. Good corporate governance practices decrease the risk to investors as it cuts through conflicts of interest, misuse of … Read more