PODCAST: New ESG S&P Indexes. Top Tech Stocks.

Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By!

New ESG S&P Indexes. Top tech stocks, and more! Reviewed include Twillio, Etsy, Pinterest, Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF, Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF, Humankind US Stock ETF, CropEnergies AG, SunPower Corporation, Renewable Energy Group, Inc., Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P., NextEra Energy, Inc., Ørsted A/S, Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Tesla, Inc., Iberdrola, S.A.

PODCAST: New ESG S&P Indexes. Top Tech Stocks

Transcript & Links, Episode 53, March 12, 2021

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to podcast episode 53 published on March 12, titled “New ESG S&P Indexes, Top Tech Stocks”— and presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources.

Remember that you can find a full transcript, links to content – including stock symbols, quotes, and bonus material – at this episode’s podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts.

And Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you.

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Appearing on fool.com Danny Vena wrote an interesting article titled 3 Top Tech Stocks That Will Make You Richer in March (and Beyond). I think these would likely fit in any ethical and sustainable portfolio. I’ll mention the three stocks followed by some brief comments from Mr. Vena.

“1. Twilio (NYSE: TWLO)

Many consumers have used Twilio's tools without even realizing it. The real-time messages you get from your food delivery service? The updates from your rideshare provider? The ability to reset a password within an app? How about in-app chats with customer service? If you've experienced any of those, there's a pretty good chance it was underpinned by Twilio's technology.

2. Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY)

While e-commerce platforms Amazon and Shopify stole the headlines last year, they were both outdone by the little engine that could: Etsy. The tailwinds that propelled digital retail also extended to retro and vintage goods, as well as handmade products. Those trends all played right into Etsy's wheelhouse. The company turned these once niche markets into a lucrative enterprise…

3. Pinterest (NYSE: PINS)

It seems like it's only a matter of time before antitrust and regulatory concerns catch up with Facebook… Investors looking for exposure to social media growth without all the drama are turning to Pinterest…

The platform acts as a digital repository and ‘visual discovery engine’ that allows users to find, save, and organize all their favorite things from around the internet.” End quotes.

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New ESG S&P Indexes

Now, this could be something that many ethical and sustainable investors might like. The details are in an article 2 new ESG ETFs bring small- and mid-cap stocks into focus. It’s by Jeff Benjamin and was on investmentnews.com.

Mr. Benjamin writes that:

“Xtrackers S&P MidCap 400 ESG ETF (MIDE), and Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF (SMLE) listed Wednesday applying sustainable investing screens to the popular indexes.

These are the first ETFs to track the environmental, social and governance versions of the indexes…

The new listings follow the Xtrackers S&P 500 ESG ETF (SNPE), which launched in June 2019 and has since grown to nearly $450 million. That fund gained 19.9% in 2020 and is up 3.4% this year through Feb. 23, which compares to the S&P 500 Index, which gained 16.3% last year and is up 3.3% so far this year.” End quotes.

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15 Biggest Renewable Energy Companies and Stocks

So, here we go again with another analysis of the renewable energy sector titled 15 Biggest Renewable Energy Companies and Stocks. It’s by Ty Haqqi and was found on Yahoo! Finance. I’ll list each company followed by some remarks on that company by Mr. Haqqi. We start going backward.

“15. CropEnergies AG (XETRA: CE2.DE)

CropEnergies is the leading European producer of ethanol. Ethanol, while not as clean a resource as wind or solar, is still a viable source of renewable energy. The company produces biofuels from renewable raw materials such as sugar syrups, wheat, and raw alcohol from wheat, maize, and barley.

14. SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR)

The Silicon Valley-based energy company SunPower Corp is partially owned by the French multinational oil and gas company Total SE (NYSE: TOT). SunPower develops and manufactures solar panels and photovoltaic cells. The company has received more than 1,000 patents for solar innovation.

13. Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA Preference Shares Series B (BVMF: ELET6)

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, this Brazilian power company is among the top global clean energy companies in the world… More than 90% of Eletrobras’ installed capacity comes from sources with low greenhouse gas emissions.

12. Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGI)

This US-based company has been providing cleaner fuels including biodiesel, renewable diesel as well as a mixture of the two known as REG Ultra Clean. The company operates 12 biorefineries dispersed across America as well as in Europe.

11. Hanergy Holding Group (Private)

It is China's largest privately-held energy enterprise operating on projects of hydro, wind, and solar power. It is known for being the leader in thin-film solar technology.

10. Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE: BEP)

Known as one of the world's largest investors in renewable power, this Canadian company operates in the wind, solar, and hydro power sectors of the renewable energy industry. Brookfield Renewable Partner’s parent company, Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) is ranked at 155 on Fortune’s Global 500 Ranking.

9. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR)

First Solar is an American company established in 2001, most recognized for selling Photovoltaic Systems, and Photovoltaic Modules… First Solar has also recently pledged to power 100% of its global solar PV manufacturing operations with renewable energy by the year 2028.

8. Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ)

… is (a) solar PV (photovoltaic) module manufacturer. The company has subsidiaries in 20 countries while their products are bought by customers hailing from more than 150 countries.

7. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS)

JinkoSolar currently stands as the top solar panel manufacturer in the world by market share, distributing solar products to many countries.

6. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE)

A subsidiary of the Fortune 500 company NextEra Energy, NextEra Energy Resources is the world's largest generator of wind and solar renewable energy… They also offer energy storage and energy marketing among other services.

5. Ørsted A/S (CPH: ORSTED.CO)

The company has been ranked as the topmost sustainable energy company in the world by Corporate Knights Global 100 Index for three consecutive years. The multinational company is also the largest energy company in Denmark, providing wind power, bioenergy, thermal power, and customer solutions and distributions.

4. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, S.A. (MCE: SGRE.MC)

The company was formed as a result of the merger between Siemens Wind Power and Gamesa. Siemens Gamesa is a Spanish-German wind engineering company. The Sustainability Yearbook compiled annually by S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) has named this company several times over the years, recognizing efforts made to promote and achieve sustainability.

3. Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH: VWS.CO)

Vestas Wind Systems stands as the largest installer of wind turbines in the world… Vestas Wind Systems also provides a digital platform known as Vestas Online for wind turbine owners to manage their wind turbine-related self-services including invoices, blade asset management, and service order reports.

2. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)

Elon Musk’s electric-car company is also a big leader in the renewable energy industry. The company also sells energy storage, solar roof tiles, and solar panels. Its subsidiary, SolarCity Corporation (also known as Tesla Solar), manufactures these products and is known to be a low-cost provider of solar products.

1. Iberdrola, S.A. (MCE: IBE.MC)

Topping our list of 15 biggest renewable energy companies and stocks is none other than the Spanish multinational energy giant, Iberdrola. Beginning as Hartford City Light Company in USA over 170 years ago, Iberdrola has grown to be the number-one producer of wind power in the world.” End quotes.

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Humankind Investments Launches First Sustainable ETF—as a Benefit Corporation!

Now this one will be fascinating to watch. The details are in this press release Humankind Investments Launches First Sustainable ETF (HKND). Here are some quotes.

“Humankind Investments, a quantitatively driven asset manager specializing in socially responsible investments, announced today the launch of its first exchange traded fund (ETF), the Humankind US Stock ETF.

‘Humankind is exclusively focused on socially responsible investing,’ said Katz. ‘This commitment is reflected in the corporate DNA of the Humankind US Stock ETF – to our knowledge it’s the first Registered Investment Company organized as a benefit corporation…’

The Humankind US Stock ETF leverages the firm’s proprietary Humankind US Equity Index to track the top 1,000 US companies that promote healthier, safer, more equitable and longer lives. The Index’s ranking is based on a quantitative analysis of each company’s positive and negative contributions to society as measured by its impact on investors, consumers, employees and citizens - defined as its ‘Humankind Value.’” End quotes.

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Top 25 Socially Responsible Dividend Stocks — Income To Feel Good About

Now, many of you are interested in dividends from ESG and sustainable stocks and funds. Well, go to this article. And if you feel comfortable sign-up for their free registration to get all their recommendations. Please note, however, I have no idea about who is behind this site and what they may or may not do with your email address though.

The article is titled Top 25 Socially Responsible Dividend Stocks — Income To Feel Good About and appeared on etfchannel.com. Here are four that they give away freely.

#25. Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) — 4.11% Yield

#24. International Business Machines Corp (NYSE: IBM) — 5.43% Yield

#23. Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) — 4.49% Yield

#22. Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) — 2.50% Yield.

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Well, these are my top news stories with their stock and fund tips -- for this podcast: “New ESG S&P Indexes. TopTech Stocks.“

To get all the links, stock symbols, or to read the transcript of this podcast -- and more -- go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this episode.

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Thank you for listening.

Talk to you next on March 26. Bye for now.

© 2021 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.