Email us at info@servantfinancial.com to talk to a financial advisor today!

Email us at info@servantfinancial.com

Tag: investment

Bitcoinalization: The Coming Institutionalization of Bitcoin

Written by John Heneghan

The digital economy is an umbrella term that describes how traditional brick-and-mortar activities are being disrupted or altered by the Internet and blockchain technologies. The institutionalization of digital assets throughout history has been driven by various factors, including shifts in investor risk preferences or changes in economic conditions, but most importantly by advancements and convergences in technology and related network effects. Network effects are a phenomenon whereby a product or service gains additional economic value as more people use it.  Think of social media networks Facebook and Twitter, e-commerce platforms like Amazon or Apple’s app store and iPhone, or digital payment platforms like PayPal, Venmo, or Bitcoin.

The institutionalization of “tangible” digital assets began with the proliferation of digital real estate assets over the last few decades. The emergence of these new real assets has been driven by a massive secular movement from analog to digital systems and the development of real assets and infrastructure to support the digitization of economic activities and an ever-increasing array of new digital technologies. Below are a couple of examples of ubiquitous digital real estate assets that have emerged over recent decades:

Cell Towers: Cell towers are perhaps one of the earliest examples of new digital real assets that have undergone the institutionalization process. As mobile communication technology has developed to meet business and consumer demands for greater bandwidth and rich features, a massive infrastructure buildout has occurred to support network reliability and responsiveness. Cell towers provide the infrastructure necessary for wireless communication networks, and they generate revenue through leasing agreements with telecommunication service providers.

Institutional investors recognized the combination of stable income and the growth potential of cell towers and began investing in the asset class. Tower companies, REITs, and infrastructure funds were formed to acquire and manage portfolios of cell towers. We witnessed the successful development of this nascent asset class in the mid-2000s through a family office advisory relationship for which we oversaw a private equity fund exit of a private cell tower business to Crown Castle International (NYSE: CCI) for $5.8 billion and very rich multiples on invested capital and tower cash flows. These entities focus on leasing tower space to telecommunication companies, effectively creating a stream of relatively stable and growing rental income. Co-location of cellular equipment from multiple carriers on a single tower created interesting upside optionality and ultimately outsized returns for early cell-tower owners and investors.

Data Centers: With the rapid growth of the digital economy, data centers have emerged as a critical infrastructure asset necessary to support the increased digitization of communication and storage and retrieval of exponentially larger data elements. Data centers provide the physical infrastructure to store and process large amounts of digital information. Institutional investors recognized the increasing demand for data storage and processing capabilities, leading to the development of specialized data center investment firms and funds.  Like cell towers, specialized public corporations and REITs were formed to hold these data center assets, such as Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) and Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR)

Concurrently, Amazon was developing its own data center expertise and infrastructure in support of its online book-selling business and expansion into other consumer products. Ultimately, Amazon was able to monetize its cloud-computing and data center expertise by building out a hugely profitable outsourced data center management business within Amazon.com (NYSE: AMZN) called Amazon Web Service, or AWS for short. This unique company’s specific transformation illustrates the powerful confluence of learning curves, technological reinforcement, economies of scale, and/or network convergence that can be associated with the digitization of the economy.

The institutionalization of these two asset classes involved the entry of large-scale institutional investors, such as pension funds, insurance companies, venture capital, and private equity firms, who brought significant capital and professional management expertise. They often acquired substantial portfolios of assets within the specific asset class, creating economies of scale and professionalizing operations.

The institutionalization process typically involves the standardization of investment structures, the development of specialized investment vehicles (for example, the more tax-efficient REIT structure for holding qualifying real estate assets), and the establishment of industry best practices. Very often adjustments in the existing regulatory framework and industry practices are necessary to bridge compliance gaps. The institutionalization process generally contributes to increased liquidity, transparency, and stability within an asset class, ultimately making it more attractive to a wider range of investors.  The REITs cited earlier are examples of these institutional market forces.  I think one important lesson from this history is that you want to be an early investor in these emerging digital asset classes prior to the formation of public REIT structures that democratized the asset to the masses.

Importantly, smaller, and more nimble retail investors have a distinct advantage over institutional investors if they can identify the approaching institutionalization of an asset class in advance of the institutional capital pools and have the fortitude to invest in an emerging digital asset in the early adopter phase of the S-curve adoption patterns commonly taught in university business classes. The early adopter phase is typically after proof of concept but prior to mass market adoption and the large institutional capital flows.

As we’ve all experienced firsthand with the emergence of mobile communication enabled by cell towers and cloud computing enabled by data centers, the adoption rate of digital innovations tends to be non-linear.  Adoption is generally slow at first driven by a small group of innovators. Adoption rates then  torise rapidly as early adopters and then the early and later majority come on board in the mass market phase before adoption flattens out in the maturation phase.  These traditional S-curve innovation adoption rate concepts are graphically depicted below:

Levels of Adoption: Solution Search/Innovators: <2.5%, Proof of Concept/Early Adopters: 2.5% to 13.5%, System Integration/Early Majority: 13.5% to 50.0%, Market Expansion/Late Majority: 50.0% to 84%, and Laggards – last 16%

Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, “Harnessing the Power of S-Curves”

Bitcoinalization

According to a June 2022 analysis of Bitcoin User Adoption by Blockware Solutions, somewhere between 1% to 3% of the global population are bitcoin users/holders.  This is a broad approximation because one on-chain entity could be a single person that self-custodies their bitcoin or it could be an exchange, custodian desk, or other institution that represents thousands or potentially millions of individuals.

Blockware Solutions’ analysis puts Bitcoin somewhere in the Early Adopters phase in the S-curve paradigm. System Integration is the next phase in the cycle and with it comes mass-market adoption.  From this standpoint, bitcoin is at a critically important inflection point in its history.  We’ve “coined” this coming wave of institutional adoption as bitcoinalization.

Before going into our investment case further, let’s look at the institutionalization process of a purely digital networked business more like bitcoin and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to supplement the foregoing tangible cell tower and data center examples. Some important patterns and potential impediments for future Bitcoin user adoption may become apparent.

One technology-enabled asset class institutionalization process that can be seen as an analogy for Bitcoin and DLT is the emergence of the Internet and the subsequent development of the digital advertising industry.  As can be seen from the digital real estate examples, the Internet revolutionized the way information is shared, communicated, and accessed. The World-Wide Web provided a platform for new business models and created opportunities for new and innovative asset classes. One of these asset classes is digital advertising, which grew alongside the expansion of the Internet and digital real estate assets and infrastructure.

Correspondingly, bitcoin and DLT would not be possible without the Internet and associated global communication and data processing networks.  Bitcoin and DLT have transformed the financial landscape by introducing decentralized digital currencies and distributed ledger systems. Bitcoin, as the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, paved the way for the institutionalization of digital assets and the exploration of blockchain-based technologies or distributed ledgers.

Similarities between the institutionalization processes of digital advertising and Bitcoin/DLT include:

Disintermediation: Both digital advertising and Bitcoin/DLT aim to eliminate intermediaries, reducing the need for trusted third parties. In digital advertising, the traditional intermediaries, advertising agencies, were bypassed as digital platforms enabled direct connections between advertisers and consumers. Similarly, Bitcoin and DLT aim to create a trustless system where transactions can occur directly between participants without financial intermediaries, such as banks or other financial institutions.

Growing Institutional Interest: Over time, digital advertising gained significant institutional interest as advertisers and marketers recognized its potential for more targeted, cost-effective advertising, and more discernable return and payback metrics. Similarly, Bitcoin and DLT have attracted venture capital firms, technology companies, and other traditionally early investors that recognized the potential for decentralized finance, secure, immutable transaction processing, and other benefits of blockchain technology.

Initial Skepticism and Regulation: Both digital advertising and Bitcoin/DLT faced initial skepticism and regulatory challenges. Digital advertising faced scrutiny, and regulatory frameworks needed to adapt to new forms of online advertising to address consumer protection and privacy concerns. Similarly, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies encountered market skepticism and continue to face regulatory scrutiny as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other financial regulators seek to better understand and regulate this new asset class.

Importantly, it’s in this regulatory oversight where we have just recently seen a potential framework developing for much-needed regulatory clarity. The SEC has long come under fire for its approach of regulating crypto markets by enforcement, rather than providing proactive, definitive regulatory guidance. After arguably being found asleep at the wheel in the aftermath of the FTX debacle, the SEC has become a more consistently active regulator. In a watershed event, the SEC sued Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Binance, two of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, in June 2023 for allegedly breaching SEC securities regulations. The SEC alleged Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that the SEC deemed to be securities which should have been registered with the SEC. (Ironically, the SEC reviewed Coinbase’s initial public offering of securities in April 2021 and did not object to the Company’s public listing.)  The SEC accused Binance of offering 12 cryptocurrencies without registering them as securities.

The SEC’s litigation claims center around whether crypto tokens represent investment contracts and/or securities. Given the technological innovations and new business models involved with crypto assets, this is a substantially gray area that will ultimately be decided by the courts. Just last week a judge ruled in a split decision in the SEC’s earlier lawsuit against Ripple that Ripple’s XRP token was a security sometimes.

Although there has been a long-running debate as to whether some cryptos are securities, there has been very little argument from the SEC that Bitcoin is a security. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ruled in 2018 that “virtual currencies, such as bitcoin, have been determined to be commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA)” in its Bitcoin Basics brochure.

Despite this seeming clarity for bitcoin’s treatment as a commodity, the SEC has denied dozens of registrations for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of commodity-based trust shares over the last few years.  Paradoxically, the SEC has allowed numerous ETFs based on bitcoin futures to trade on regulated exchanges but has denied every spot bitcoin application that has been submitted to date. The SEC has often cited that the underlying spot market of Bitcoin is subject to fraud and manipulation. Since the derivatives market reflects spot prices, it is difficult to see the SEC logic in allowing the futures-based ETFs but not ETFs based on the underlying bitcoin.

However, it seems that regulatory clarity is about to arrive for Bitcoin with the recent submission by Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) for a spot Bitcoin ETF.  We see the SEC approval of a spot bitcoin ETF akin to the REIT structure that democratized cell tower and data center ownership to the masses. Blackrock is the world’s largest investment manager at $9 trillion in assets under management (AUM).  It’s CEO, Larry Fink, was an early skeptic and once declared, “Bitcoin is nothing more than an index for money laundering.”  Funny how profit incentives and client defections to your competitors providing Bitcoin access will change your tune.

On July 13, the SEC added BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF application to its list of proposed rulemaking filings for the NASDAQ stock market. This move may signal the SEC’s intent to take the application more seriously after BlackRock added a “surveillance-sharing” agreement with U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase to its updated application. Blackrock’s competitors Fidelity Investments, WisdomTree, Invesco, VanEck, and others have followed suit and filed similar “surveillance-sharing” amendments to their respective bitcoin ETF applications. Several of these other bitcoin ETFs were recently added to the SEC’s review docket.

It is particularly interesting to note that both the NASDAQ exchange and CBOE are partnering with Coinbase to provide the market surveillance function to address SEC concerns about monitoring of fraud. The Coinbase name was originally omitted in Blackrock and other bitcoin ETF applications, possibly due to the SEC’s wide-ranging enforcement action against Coinbase.

In addition to the spot bitcoin ETFs, there have been several other positive institutional moves that may also promote bitcoinalization:

  • Not to be left out, rumors abound that Vanguard ($7.6 trillion in AUM) may potentially take over the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and convert it into a spot ETF.
  • Last September, Fidelity Investments, Schwab and Citadel announced they were teaming up to launch a new crypto exchange called EDX.
  • Fidelity Investments is no stranger to bitcoin. Fidelity has been leading the institutional adoption of bitcoin. For example, Fidelity has its own bitcoin mining operation. And since early last year, Fidelity has enabled their 73,000 retirement plan clients to make bitcoin allocations with 401K plans where Fidelity acts as the custodian or administrator.
  • More recently Fidelity Investments began rolling out Fidelity Crypto® capabilities to its Fidelity Institutional Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) network and family office clients by providing access to Fidelity Digital Assets custody and execution services within the RIA Wealthscape platform.

 

All the foregoing developments are elegantly summarized in the following chart from BitcoinNews.com. Led by Blackrock and Fidelity, the following institutions which control some $27 trillion in assets under management are queuing up to invest in a scarce 21 million bitcoin (19.4 million in existence and 1.6 million left to be mined).

Considering the foregoing, we will be taking the following actions on behalf of our Servant Financial clients:

  1. Doubling portfolio allocations to the bitcoin sector – initial client allocations based on account risk tolerances were to Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC: GBTC) ranging from 1% to 2% and Hut8 Mining (NASDAQ: HUT) of 1.5% to 2.0%,. HUT’s stock price has doubled in the last 45 days on the bitcoin rally on news of Blackrock’s ETF filing and company specific merger developments.  We’ve simply doubled the HUT allocation in more risk-tolerant client accounts that hold this security without making additional share purchases.  Concerning the direct bitcoin allocation, we are withholding action on any additional GBTC allocations until we’ve had an opportunity to meet with Fidelity Investments on the Fidelity Crypto® integration for registered investment advisors.  Initially, Fidelity will not be charging custodial fees for cold storage of client Bitcoin or Ethereum.  Over time, Fidelity intends to charge 0.4% for Bitcoin and Ethereum custody. GBTC charges a 2% annual management fee.
  2. Continuing Professional Education – taking an online course for a certificate in blockchain and digital assets for financial advisors offered by Digital Asset Council for Financial Professionals.
  3. Ongoing securities research – analysis of other leading “picks and shovels” companies in the bitcoin and blockchain ecosystem like HUT. We are beta-testing a more speculative pure-play model invested in six companies for one client.
  4. Convergence of bitcoin miners and their high-performance computing capabilities with artificial intelligence applications – it’s a story for another day but a convergence of artificial intelligence and bitcoin mining/high-performance computing is anticipated. It seems that bitcoin mining equipment is uniquely suitable for artificial intelligence applications, particularly NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs, initially developed for gaming and graphics applications) with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for bitcoin mining. Some miners established early strategic relationships with NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA).

“I love this stuff – bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain technology – and what the future holds.” – Abigail Johnson, granddaughter of the late Edward C. Johnson II, founder of Fidelity Investments.

And just like that bitcoin is institutional – bitcoinalization.

Summer Road Trip

Written by Ailie Carlene Elmore , John Heneghan

The summer season has officially begun and following in the footsteps of the Griswold family, you’ve decided to take a typically American road trip. But instead of a final destination of Walley World, your destination is a more durable investment portfolio as you suspect the wheels may come off the US economy this summer. Fasten your seat belts, get out your road map, and drive along as we explore some of the key points of interest (POI) for the U.S. economy this summer.

First POI: National Debt Ceiling

One POI that could cause you to reduce your cruising speed this summer could be the National Debt Ceiling. The media and public have been in a veritable frenzy over the past month about the National Debt Ceiling as the legislative and executive branches of government have until June 5th to reach a compromise on raising the national debt limit. The U.S. Government reached its $31.4 trillion debt limit in January however the Treasury Department has been using “extraordinary measures” and accounting tricks to avoid a technical default. The U.S. Treasury Department recently warned that if the ceiling were not raised by June 5th, the U.S. Government could default on its payment obligations to debt holders.

About $6.8 trillion of this debt is owed to other federal agencies such as the Social Security Trust Fund, the Federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds, and the Military Retirement Fund. The remainder is held by the public. Among these public debtholders are U.S. banks, investors, the Federal Reserve, state and local governments, mutual funds, pension funds, and several foreign governments. Almost half of U.S. debt is held in trusts for retirement, meaning if the U.S. government ever defaulted, it could have far-reaching impacts on current and future retirees. Much like you, these retired workers are likely looking to hit the road in their RVs this summer.  Some sharp-eyed retirees may have foreseen this speed bump ahead and begun rethinking their travel plans.  Many have pulled over into the relative safety and comfort of a rest area; tired and frustrated that their retirement income lies in the hands of politicians jockeying to ride shotgun beside the Commander in Chief.

Source: The Balance Money

In addition to military leadership, the Commander in Chief holds primary responsibility for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy.  Stiffing your foreign lenders would be a steering error with potentially fatal consequences.  Japan, China, and the United Kingdom lead the line of geopolitical traffic cops, collectively holding over $2 trillion of U.S. debt. Japan and China’s large holdings of U.S. debt help support the value of the dollar as the global reserve currency and finance U.S. purchases of their relatively cheaper goods. The U.S. economy is one of the key global economies as most foreign countries have some trading relationship with the United States.  In addition, the U.S. dollar dominates global exchange markets, representing 90% of trading volume.  A U.S. default on its national debt would cause a major economic pileup and delays in global economic activity transmitted through the U.S. dollar-based global financial system. The U.S. maintained its AAA or equivalent credit rating by the major reporting agencies until the last debt ceiling crisis in 2013, when Standard and Poors downgraded the U.S. to an AA+ credit rating, citing political brinkmanship over raising the Federal debt ceiling.

Source: The Balance Money

Thankfully, legislators have reached a proposed deal that would lift the federal debt limit; however, the proposed legislation will do little to reduce the government spending that sped up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The package would suspend the borrowing limit until January 2025 along with limiting military spending growth to 3% and imposing limits on nonmilitary spending. Some other features of the deal include some cutting of funding for the Internal Revenue Service and a tightening of work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The deal still needs to be approved by both the House and Senate before going to the Commander in Chief for his signature. At this juncture, it seems likely that these two backseat drivers will reach agreement soon enough to apply the brakes and avoid a catastrophic Thelma & Louis ending.

Second POI: Revisiting Cryptocurrencies

Next stop on our summer road trip, is a place we have visited before, cryptocurrencies. At the end of 2022, we discussed some of our key investment themes for 2023 with crypto assets making the list. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, were on everyone’s POI list last summer.  However, the epic failure and fraud of one of the largest digital currency exchanges, FTX, halted many people’s crypto ride prematurely. The price of Bitcoin fell 65% last year but has it started to make a comeback? The short answer is yes however it has not yet reached its all-time high of 2020. Bitcoin is up 67% year to date with Ethereum following suit, rising almost 59% year to date. While crypto assets are increasing in popularity again after their self-inflicted pileup last year, many remain skeptical about whether alternative currencies are the safest route on the investment highway. Similar to old Route 66 that runs from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, digital currencies have had several bumps, potholes, and dead ends across its history. Still, Route 66 remains a viable, albeit alternative pathway.  It has not been abandoned by more adventuresome travelers.  Inflationary pressures and a long history of fiat-based monetary accidents have venturous investors exploring these digital assets for diversification benefits as uncertainty looms around the U.S. economy and recession odds grow with the length of days. We expect to see more sensible government regulation in this space over time. The stakes have been raised with SEC cracking down on the popular trading and exchange platform, Coinbase, in April.  Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle have been working on providing legislative clarity where the SEC has left a regulatory vacuum.  Cryptocurrencies may not be on everyone’s destination list this summer; however, we will be keeping a watchful eye on their route this summer.  The incessant drumbeat of global de-dollarization and circumventions of U.S. hegemony by U.S. allies and foes alike will be good fodder for economists’ ghoulish tales around summer campfires.

Third Stop: Energy Prices

From the air conditioning in your home to the gas tank filled up for that summer road trip, energy prices remain a stipulation in summer travel plans. Last year, energy prices, impeded many people’s ability to take that summer vacation or forced them to turn down the thermostats in their homes as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict put price pressure on oil and natural gas. Europe felt the brunt of spiking energy prices as its largest supplier of natural gas, Russia, shut off its pipes to countries supporting Ukraine in its war efforts. As a result, prices skyrocketed which sent shockwaves to energy consumers around the world. Thankfully, Europe pushed its populous to conserve energy, and, coupled with a mild Winter, the European Union was able to escape a possible pileup widely predicted this past winter.  Energy prices have largely stabilized along with the apparent stalemate in the Russia-Ukraine War with oil prices falling 7% and natural gas prices falling 42% since January 1st making your summer travel a bit cheaper going into the warmer months.

Fourth POI: Hospitality Industry

Our final stop is a look at the hospitality industry: the epicenter of summer travel season. The hospitality industry which includes hotels, bars, and restaurants took a major hit during the pandemic as restrictions and public fear kept many people locked down. However, the CDC recently lifted its Public Health Emergency as COVID-19 has become less virulent and more manageable from a public health perspective. This news couldn’t have been better timed for the hospitality industry as this summer is projected to be full of travel for Americans. A study conducted by Deloitte found that 50% of Americans plan to take trips this summer that include hotel or rental home stays along with many reporting they will be traveling internationally this year. As a result, bars, hotels, and restaurants are among the economy’s fastest-growing employers according to the Wall Street Journal. This hiring frenzy comes on the heels of increased consumer spending in April even though recessionary fears persist. Overall, much like this author, Americans seem to be making room in their budgets for that epic 2023 summer road trip making the hospitality industry one sector to watch this year.

“When all else fails, take a vacation.”  – Betty Williams

Hopefully, we’ve whetted your appetite for a summer road trip.  Let’s face it, our elected officials and central bankers are driving erratically and should get off the road.  Thankfully they’ll be on summer break soon, probably just as soon as they raise the debt ceiling.

There is an old Wall Street adage, “Sell in May and go away” that ties in well with this summer road trip theme.  Of note, we’ve tactically reduced Servant Financial model portfolios to the lower end of their risk tolerance range earlier this month to keep your summer road trip on track and carefree.  Although we cannot prevent government or Fed-induced market accidents from occurring, we can limit the portfolio damage.  With the S&P 500 trading at 4,200 and a rich 24 times last twelve-month price-earnings ratio (PE) and 19 times forward PE, selling in May and focusing on your summer vacation seems like a very sensible thing to do.

Contact us today to learn how you can keep your investment portfolios safely on the road this Summer.

 

Commodities Refresh

Written by John Heneghan

Investors are shaking out the dustbin of their investment strategies to take a fresh look at commodities that haven’t seen a strong portfolio allocation since the 1970s/80s. With inflation rampant and the U.S. consumer price index hitting a 40-year high in September of 8.2% annual rate, it may be time to reconsider commodities as an investment option.  With this inflationary backdrop, it’s the first time in a generation that investors are losing sleep over inflation eating away at their purchasing power and devaluing their hard-earned life savings.

Conventional wisdom holds that commodity investments can provide beneficial portfolio diversification and hedging benefits against inflation. The commodity asset class is generally considered a tactical insurance policy rather than a strategic asset allocation.  The returns from commodities are more episodic driven primarily by inflationary surprises leading to commodities’ primary use as a tactical or trading instrument. Historically, commodities have not been a stable source of returns. On a forward-looking basis, investment firm Research Affiliates projects measly expected annual returns of 0.2% over the next ten years with an expected volatility of 15.5% for commodities (Asset Allocation Interactive research platform).  That said, commodities’ asymmetric return profile can provide valuable inflation protection similar to recoveries under an insurance policy from catastrophes.

Accordingly, we think of the commodity asset class as a tactical/trading tool to deploy before a wave of unexpected inflation or a long period of sustained inflation.   In hindsight, an opportune time to allocate to commodities was earlier in 2021 while the Federal Reserve’s mantra was “inflation is transitory” and well before the Fed’s December 15, 2021 inflation capitulation.  For instance, an allocation to the iShares S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) returned 39.0% for calendar 2021 and has gained a further 26.0% through October 26, 2022.  Although we were appropriately concerned about inflation trends and adjusted Servant Financial client portfolios accordingly, we did not add any direct exposure to commodities to client portfolios. We opted instead to tilt model portfolios, subject to client risk tolerances, to real assets and inflation hedges with more stable risk-adjusted return profiles – gold/precious metals (CEF, GDX, SLV), bitcoin (GBTC, HUT), farmland (FPI), and Horizon Kinetics Inflation Beneficiaries ETF (INFL).

With spectacular commodity price responses to the unexpected spike in inflation now largely behind us, we are hard-pressed to add commodity exposure to client portfolios at this juncture unless we were highly confident that a long period of sustained inflation or what is called a Commodity Super Cycle (Super Cycle) has begun.  Super Cycles are extended periods of time of around a decade where commodities as a whole trade at prices that are greater than their long-term moving averages.  A Super Cycle will usually occur when there is a large industrial and commercial change in demand within a country or globally that requires more resources or supplies of commodities with large demand-supply imbalances.

There have been four super cycles over the last 120 years. The first started in late 1890 and was accelerated with widespread industrialization of the United States and industrial build-up associated with World War I. This cycle peaked in 1917. A new Super Cycle started in the late 1930s with the advent of World War II and peaked in 1951 after Europe and Asia’s heavy rebuilding from the war was complete.

The next Super Cycle started in the 1970s at the beginning of a long phase of global industrialization.  World economies industrialized and populations moved to urban centers, requiring more raw materials and energy to sustain this more intensive growth. The Vietnam War and Nixon’s closing of the gold window (halting foreign nations’ convertibility of U.S. dollars to gold and the dollar plunged by 1/3rd in the 1970s) were also significant factors in this cycle.

Note that the Vietnam War was one of the first Cold War-era proxy wars with eerily similar characteristics to the current Ukraine-Russian conflict. The Vietnam war took place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1955 to the fall of Saigon in April 1975.  It was “officially” fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. However, North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies.  While South Vietnam was supported by the United States and its democratic allies. Ominously, the Vietnam war lasted almost 20 years.  The 1970 Super Cycle came to an end as the Vietnam War ended and foreign investments fled as extractive industries became nationalized.

The most recent Super Cycle began in 2000 as China and its population of 1.3 billion, or 20% of the world’s population, joined the World Trade Organization.  With 1.3 billion Chinese jumping on the globalization and industrialization bandwagon, demand for energy and raw materials needed to build new megacities surged. The Great Recession hit in 2009 and ended this last Super Cycle.

The current spike in inflation and commodity prices could well mark the beginning of a fifth Super Cycle.  The Ukraine-Russia conflict, destruction and/or destabilization of global supply chains from the COVID-19 pandemic, breakdown in global trading partnerships, dangerously loose global central bank monetary policies, and a shortage of new investment in energy and raw materials exploration and development point to the makings of a fifth Super Cycle potentiality.

Ole Hansen Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank believes this lack of investments in materials and energy sectors, as depicted below, together with the forces of decarbonization, electrification and urbanization will keep supply tight and inflation high.

At a minimum, investors should consider the possibility of a new Commodity Super Cycle.  The key matter of debate is whether investors believe the Federal Reserve will ultimately be successful in taming the inflation beast.  The Fed is playing catchup after letting the beast run wild for some time before taking credible action.  For a more in-depth discussion on the Fed’s chances of policy success, readers are encouraged to watch investment research firm Real Vision’s video where perspectives on both sides of the economic debate – deflation/disinflation/recession and inflation/stagflation – are discussed.

We’ll be watching for signs that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening cycle are having the desired economic impact – the destruction of demand for goods and labor.  One factor we’re highly focused on is the labor market and whether unemployment levels will trend higher and if inflationary wage pressures lessen.  Secondly, we’re watching for signs of a possible Federal Reserve policy mistake, like a premature policy pivot before the back of inflation is broken.

Our preferred investment vehicle for a tactical allocation to commodities is the Invesco Optimum Yield Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF (PDBC).   PDBC is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that seeks broad-based commodity exposure through financial instruments (commodity futures and swaps and U.S. Treasury Bills) that are economically linked to the world’s most heavily traded commodities.  The Fund’s commodity allocation is production weighted and therefore structurally overweights the energy complex relative to other commodity indexes.  The following summarizes commodity allocations (current % and strategic rebalance target %):

 

Sector

Current % Allocation

Strategic Rebalance Target %

Commodity Allocation
Energy 63% 55% WTI Crude, Brent Crude, Natural Gas, Gasoline
Precious Metals 8% 10% Gold & Silver
Industrial Metals 9% 13% Aluminum, Copper, & Zinc
Agriculture 20% 23% Corn, Soybeans, Sugar, Wheat

 

PDBC outperformed GSG in 2021 returning 41.9%, but the Fund is lagging that GSG year-to-date at 20.7% in gains through October 26, 2022.  Importantly, the Fund does not generate a K-1 tax reporting obligation.

Clear signs of an impending Fed policy mistake would lead us to aggressively consider a tactical allocation to commodities through PDBC.  One low-probability scenario would be a significant dislocation or lack of market liquidity in the U.S. Treasury market that forces the Fed to purchase treasuries.   The Fed would effectively be adopting yield curve controls, much like the recent Bank of England’s actions in the gilts market to stem an uncontrolled blow-out of gilt yields.  One expected casualty in this outlier fact set would be foreigners’ loss of faith in the U.S. Dollar with an ensuing currency devaluation like in the 1970s when Nixon ended dollar convertibility to gold.

Almighty Dollar

Written by Ailie Carlene Elmore

Current Status of US Dollar

What do George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin have in common? These three American icons found on the $1, $5, and $100 bills have been getting much stronger the past several months. The U.S. dollar is undergoing one of the longest periods of almost steady appreciation in several decades impacting domestic and foreign economies alike. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, the most widely adopted currency index, measures the international value of the US dollar against other major fiat currencies with a weighting of Euro (58%), Japanese Yen (14%), British Pound (12%), Canadian Dollar (9%), Swedish Krona (4%), and Swiss Franc (4%). The buck’s value is currently up 22% since the start of 2022 with little end in sight.

Source: Wall Street Journal

The rise in the dollar’s value is unsurprising as record inflation in the United States has prompted the Federal Reserve to aggressively raise interest rates over the past several months. Just last week, the U.S. central bank decided on another .75 percentage point increase, the third consecutive rate hike. This pushed the implied Fed funds curve higher, with terminal Fed funds now expected to peak at 4.6% and remain above 4.0% through the end of next year. The yield curve inverted further with the 2-year versus 10-year treasury spread at 50 basis points (0.5%).  These changes in the risk-free U.S. treasury rates are driving the cost of capital higher for all risk assets and significantly impacting equity and currency markets. While the stock market has experienced significant losses, the dollar has been benefiting from increased capital flows due to rising treasury yields. The U.S. 10-year treasury note is at a multi-year high, yielding over 3.5%. Rising U.S. interest rates have foreign investors flocking to higher-yielding U.S. treasuries and pulling capital out of lower yielding, perhaps riskier currencies, bond and equity investments in other countries. This trend is particularly visible in energy dependent jurisdictions like the European Union, China and Japan.

Impact of the US Dollar on the Global Economy

Efforts to combat inflation through interest rate hikes have been counteracted by the strengthening dollar, fueling cheaper imports for the American people. However, the rest of the world has felt the brunt of this change. The economies being hit hardest by the punch of the U.S. dollar, are some of the U.S. largest trading partners: China, Japan, and Europe.

On September 26th, the British pound hit its lowest value ever against the U.S. dollar, sending U.K. bond yields soaring. Emerging economies have also declined in value relative to the dollar with currencies in Egypt, Hungary, and South Africa falling by 18%, 20%, and 9% respectively.

Not only are rising U.S. interest rates impacting these economies, but geopolitical concerns between Ukraine and Russia have Europe in an economic war of its own with Russia. Combined with surging inflation and the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war between Russia and Ukraine has Europe in an energy crisis, only furthering their currencies’ devaluation. Energy prices have skyrocketed while supply dwindles as Europe, particularly Germany, was very heavily dependent on natural gas imports from Russia for its global manufacturing base and winter heating. As European countries are forced to look to the U.S. and other markets for alternative oil and gas imports, the devalued Euro currency is only deepening the economic damage as most imports are traded in U.S. dollars.

Domestic companies with international operations are also being squeezed by the strong dollar. McDonald’s reported global revenue fell 3% this past summer while Microsoft stated that the changes in foreign currency values cut their revenues by close to 1% in the last quarter. According to a report by CBS news , companies comprising the S&P 500 receive 40% of their revenues from foreign countries. This has only added fuel to the downward spiral of the stock market as earnings expectations are lowered due to foreign currency translation losses and inevitable demand destruction. Domestic and foreign companies alike are pointing at the U.S. monetary policy as the root cause of the dramatic economic slowdown globally.

Investment Opportunities

In every market scenario there are winners and losers, and the current strength of the U.S. dollar is no different. While the U.S. stock market has entered a bear market with 20% declines across most major stock indices, treasuries and corporate bond yields have been on the rise in recent months as outstanding bond prices have declined in response to Fed interest rate hikes. Moody’s reports Aaa corporate bonds are currently yielding 4.65% which is up from 2.60% just a year ago while Baa bonds are currently yielding 5.78% on average, up from 3.26% a year ago.

Source: Bloomberg

The looming energy crisis in Europe has some adventuresome investors looking to clean energy options to capitalize on potential long-term secular growth. Even though the energy crisis is worse in Europe, the U.S. has still experienced stubbornly high oil, gas, and electricity prices over the past few years, contributing to the high inflation rate. Last month, we told you about the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ticker: ICLN) and the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (ticker: QCLN) with assets under management of $5.5 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively. Each ETF has demonstrated strong 10 year returns and the government has deepened its commitment to clean energy through the Inflation Reduction Act, meaning this strong performance is likely to persist in the future.

One way to make a contrarian play on the strength of the U.S. dollar waning, or mean reverting over time, would be to invest in a basket of emerging market currencies which for the most part are energy and resource rich.  We explored these alternatives on Research Affiliates Asset Allocation Interactive website seeking a fixed income alternative that is expected to pay a real yield (nominal yield less expected U.S. inflation of 4.0%) and an attractive Sharpe ratio (return per unit of risk).  Perhaps the best alternative was Emerging Market Cash asset class.  As of August 31, 2022, Research Affiliates expects EM Cash to generate a real return of 2.4% (real return in excess of U.S. dollar cash of 4.6%, ie. real loss of (2.2%) holding U.S. dollar) with volatility of 7.2%. This compares to a real return of (0.4%) with volatility of 3.8% for U.S. Treasury intermediate bonds.  Of note, Research Affiliates’ risk and return metrics for the EM Cash asset class were derived using a variety of information, including using the J.P. Morgan ELMI+ index as a representative example.  Servant Financial portfolio models generally include an allocation to the J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC).  EMLC yields over 7% and is comprised of mostly investment grade (72%) sovereign debt obligations in local currencies.  The top 4 currencies represent 38% of its holdings – Indonesian Rupiah (10%), Chinese Renminbi (10%), Brazilian Real (9%), and Mexican Peso (9%).

As you might expect, the price of EMLC has been declining in line with the U.S. dollar strength this year.  We rebalanced the model portfolio last week and at much earlier juncture in 2022 where EMLC was among the list of buys both times.  Rebalancing is a prudent investment practice whereby investors buy more of their losing positions and sell winners to get back to overall targeted asset class allocations. Research Affiliates recommends modest allocations to EM Cash of 2% to 4% in conservative to aggressive risk models.

Conclusion

2022 is turning out to be one for the financial record books as inflation, geopolitical pressures, and the bear market has George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin being stretched in every direction in our wallets. Global recession concerns are rising as the Federal Reserve’s high conviction battle with inflation is affecting consumers and markets all over the world. As participants in a global economy, we need to remember the words of the man found on the $5 bill. “The money power preys on the nation in times of peace and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes.” -Abraham Lincoln.

The ubiquitous strength of the almighty dollar and resultant market mayhem suggest the Jerome Powell led Federal Reserve is currently playing the role of Lincoln’s “money power.”  The Fed is wielding economist Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” with brass knuckles as it tries to break the back of inflation.  The potential collateral damage of the Fed’s heavy-handed approach include the domestic and global economies, the credibility of the Fed, and the almighty dollar’s dominance as the sole global reserve currency.

Riding the Bitcoin Rocket

Written by Will Slattery

What is Bitcoin?

Over the past few years it is more than likely you have either directly encountered Bitcoin or heard of it, and this is for good reason. As cryptocurrencies are still so new and foreign to most people, reluctance and skepticism are a natural hurdle. Just as many people thought the internet was a waste of time during its inception, Bitcoin is bound to face similar issues. However, popular financial figures such as Elon Musk and Anthony Scaramucci have sung cryptocurrencies’ praises for its innovative blockchain technology. Bitcoin has the potential to significantly disrupt current financial systems such as our current fiat money system while revolutionizing data collection and financial transaction systems.

In 2008, a person using the name Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper on a public online mailing list. The paper, titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System stated the objectives of the currency as well as the actual code for how to make it possible. As the name suggests, the main objective of Bitcoin is to create a decentralized digital currency that is fully peer-to-peer, not requiring any regulators, banks to be a mediator, or middlemen for transactions. Additionally, Bitcoin avoids rapid fiat currency inflationary episodes like we are seeing currently because the number of bitcoin to be mined has been fixed at 21 million. All of these are made possible through the computer code for blockchain which Satoshi provides in the same paper.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is the technology that makes Bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies possible. While it is an extremely complicated system altogether, it can be summarized in a fairly digestible way. Blockchain is essentially a linear public ledger of all transactions, using encryption and decryption as a means of verifying transactions. As Bitcoin transactions are made, they are publicly broadcasted to all computers in the blockchain network and grouped into blocks. These blocks must then be decrypted by the network of computers in the system. Once one of these computers solves the block, the ledger is permanently updated with that block being the newest block on the end of the chain. This process continues indefinitely, constantly adding verified blocks full of transactions. This process eliminates the risk of double spending while remaining decentralized. Double-spending occurs when a single digital token can be spent more than once through duplication or falsification of the blockchain record. The information for all of these blocks as well as the individual transactions within them are all public and can be viewed at any time. While the crypto wallet public key is displayed for transactions, no information is linked to the key that could compromise anonymity.

Mining and Supply

There is only a single way new Bitcoins are created. That is through the process of mining. Calling it mining is slightly misleading as in reality mining is an essential process that maintains the blockchain network. Miners are the computers connected to the blockchain network which complete the decryption process to verify and post blocks. Whichever computer eventually solves the encryption by providing the correct 64-digit hexadecimal value is rewarded a set number of new Bitcoins. This is the only way new Bitcoins are added to the system.

About every four years or 210,000 blocks verified, the Bitcoin reward for solving a block is halved. This rate was established at inception to limit the supply growth and cap the total number of Bitcoins that will ever exist at 21 million. In addition to this, the blockchain system adjusts the difficulty of its encryptions to the amount of mining power in the network to maintain this rate. This is how Bitcoin handles inflation. These countermeasures to inflating the supply are hard-coded into the blockchain. Unlike the U.S. fiat dollar system where money can be arbitrarily created whenever needed by the government, Bitcoin has a fixed total supply and rate of adding to the supply that is not controlled by an irresponsible third party. Today, the reward for solving a single block is 6.25 BTC which currently, would be valued at around $144,000.

While a $144,000 payout for running a computer sounds attractive, the odds of actually being the one to solve the encryption is estimated to be about 1 in 22 trillion. Mining technology is becoming more productive every year with inventions like ASICs (Application-Specific-Integrated-Circuit) which are computers designed for the sole purpose of mining Bitcoin. However, even with one of these top-of-the-line computers, odds of solving the encryption are terrible as there are many other individuals and companies running mining operations at a scale that no individual can afford. This issue has led to the creation of mining pools. These are pools of individuals all agreeing to share in the profits of their combined computing power. With thousands of times the computing power, the chances of being the one to solve and be rewarded Bitcoin go up significantly. These profits are then divided up amongst individuals in the pool by how much computing power they offered to the pool.

Bitcoin Today

Fourteen years later, it is hard to imagine Satoshi had any idea that his creation would become such a big deal with some countries even using Bitcoin as legal tender. While the coin came from extremely humble beginnings, with a value as low as $0.09 per Bitcoin in 2010, it has hit astonishing highs of nearly $69,000 per Bitcoin just last year. Bitcoin’s price has fallen considerably from this point, today being worth just under $23,000 per coin. This decline is largely from a recent crypto panic caused by the crashing of multiple extremely over-leveraged crypto companies. Despite this recent dip, Bitcoin still shows immense promise for all of the reasons listed above. Even for those skeptical about Bitcoin, the blockchain technology surrounding it has taken off in every sector from food and supply chain to insurance and banking. American Express, Facebook, Walt Disney, and Berkshire Hathaway have all invested in the technology. As the fiat money system becomes more and more problematic and the importance of data collection grows, individuals and countries will be looking to Bitcoin and blockchain technologies for guidance.

Investing in Bitcoin

If you are considering putting money in Bitcoin there is a lot to consider. Crypto wallets can be intimidating and are only for direct investment in crypto assets. Instead, we will be focusing on investment opportunities that are tradeable like typical stocks but still provide exposure to the crypto markets. These come in a wide variety and may have different approaches to how they offer crypto exposure. For our purposes, we will cover three of these opportunities.

The first fund has been in the news for the past couple of months. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (ticker: GBTC) is a closed-end fund holding purely bitcoin assets.  Unlike actual bitcoin, GBTC can be held in a tradional investment brokerage account or an IRA (individual retirement account).  Grayscale currently has assets under management of around $15 billion, making it the largest Bitcoin fund in the world. The fund provides the opportunity for people to gain exposure to the direct price changes in Bitcoin. Grayscale has plans to convert to an exchanged-traded-fund (ETF) which would allow them to use the creation and redemption technique of an ETF to stabilize the value to the net asset value (NAV). Currently, Grayscale’s inability to use this stabilizing technique has led to GBTC trading at nearly a 30% discount from the NAV of the underlying Bitcoin. In June, the SEC denied Grayscale’s application to convert to an ETF, citing concerns of potential manipulation. Grayscale is now suing the SEC over the decision following previous inconsistent approvals from the SEC for a Bitcoin futures ETF. If Grayscale ends up receiving approval for conversion, the current 30% discount will become a 30% profit for investors as the price will return close to NAV.

The next few investment opportunities take on more of a “pick and shovel” approach to investing in Bitcoin and crypto. This means investing in the tools that make this sector possible, such as computer chips and ASICs and the mining companies, rather than the crypto assets themselves as they can admittedly be volatile. The first of these is Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payment ETF (Ticker: FDIG). This ETF holds assets across Fidelity’s entire Crypto Industry and Digital Payment Index, closely tracking the performance of the crypto sector rather than the potentially volatile prices of the cryptos themselves. Currently, FDIG holds assets under management of about $13 million with a NAV of $16.71. The second company we have an eye on takes a similar pick and shovel approach to invest in crypto. Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (Ticker: BITQ) is another ETF holding shares of companies innovating in and supporting the crypto industry. Specifically, only companies that generate at least half of their revenues from crypto business activities. BITQ currently has assets under management of $72 million and a NAV of $8.10. These could be good options for those who are interested or have faith in crypto but want to take a more diversified approach on the sector.

   

 

 

 

 

 

An investment in GBTC, FDIG or BITQ can be as volatile as owning bitcoin or any other crypto.  We recommend only modest allocations to the crypto space of 1% to 5% within an investment portfolio because of the higher risk and speculative aspects of this nascent industry/technology. Servant Financial client portfolio models include GBTC and were recently rebalanced to purchase more given the market correction in the crypto sector along with traditional stock and bond markets.  More risk tolerant client models also hold Hut 8 Mining (NASDAQ: HUT) and these models were also rebalanced.  We typically do not invest in ETFs that do not have more than $100 million in assets under management so we will continue to monitor FDIG and BITQ.

Looking Forward

Crypto is still only in its beginning phase. With the application and acceptance of Bitcoin and other cryptos increasing each year, demand is expected to increase significantly. Broader acceptance and application of the technology is expected to lead to improved regulation of these currencies which will serve to increase adoption and overall understanding of cryptos as well as the benefits they have to offer. Bitcoin and crypto will continue to establish themselves as major disruptive forces to the current financial system. Bitcoin and crypto can potentially disintermediate traditional financial institutions much like what the internet and e-commerce did to traditional retailers, like book stores. As innovators such as Steve Jobs, Nikola Tesla, and Jeff Bezos will tell you, being on the right side of change can reap financial benefits and societal advancements.

Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing

Written by Ailie Carlene Elmore

What is ESG Investing? 

Earlier this year we introduced ESG investing to you as one of our 2022 investing themes to watch. Since then, it has continued to grow in interest not only for institutional investors but consumers as well. But what exactly is this phrase “ESG” and what does it mean as an investor? ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance with the investment goal to put money to work to make the world a better place. An investment strategy geared towards ESG investing means investing in companies or funds that score well within the ESG standards set by independent research companies or groups. Investments are evaluated based on what kind of impact they have on the environment – positive or negative, how the company is improving society through its social impact, and in what ways the company’s leadership is paving the way for positive transformation organizationally through transparent and affirmative business practices. Overall, ESG investing aims to create an impact that is positive not only for the surrounding community and environment but for investor returns as well.

Rise and Growth of ESG Investing

ESG investing has grown in popularity within the last 5-10 years as more investors and shareholders are demanding companies be held accountable for their business activities and impacts on the surrounding community. Society as a whole is becoming increasingly concerned with social change and environmental impact which has trickled down to the investing world. While investment in positive change has been occurring long before the term ESG was coined, the 2015 Paris Agreement that pledged to limit global temperature increases caused societal and investor interest in the investment strategy to grow in popularity and as a method of capital allocation. The concept of ESG investing is now a mainstream theme and Morgan Stanley found that 79% of individual investors are interested in sustainable investing with millennials and younger investors showing the most interest. Growth in the sector has exploded in the past 5 years. Currently, it is estimated that there is $2.74 trillion invested in the ESG thematic globally and $357 billion invested in the U.S. This burst in interest was driven by increasing environmental concerns, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other societal issues.

Source: SustainFi

Regulation and Reporting for ESG Investing

ESG investing relies on independent research firms to provide scoring models and rating standards to evaluate companies on their ESG initiatives. Each research firm has different reporting standards but the pillars of Environmental, Social, and Governance remain. Some of the most popular reporting agencies are Bloomberg, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and MSCI, and typically their scoring follows a 100-point scale with the higher the score meaning the higher the rating. Companies in the U.S. are not presently required to report their ESG metrics. However, pressure from shareholders and other stakeholders has prompted many companies to start reporting their sustainability data.

A variety of reporting frameworks exist such as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) but there is no standardized reporting regulation globally. This discontinuity has caused speculation about reporting standards and an MIT study found that there is only a 60% correlation in ratings among different ESG reporting regimes. A conflict also exists on how much weight is placed on the individual factors within the diverse ESG standards. For example, Tesla and Exxon Mobil both received an “average” rating by MSCI even though some may argue that Tesla’s business model is much more sustainable while Exxon is an oil and gas company whose carbon based products are a major contributor to climate change. Exxon has much higher ratings for worker treatment and safety than Tesla does which raises its ESG ratings. As an individual investor, you have to decide which letter in the ESG acronym is the most important to you.

Investing in ESG

As in any investment strategy, you need to ask yourself what your investment goals and purposes are and consider your risk and return profile. The same goes for choosing an ESG investing strategy. Think about which issues within the ESG framework you are the most concerned with. For many investors, current economic concerns may drive their portfolio allocation decisions. Rising energy costs and fossil fuel concerns have many people looking to alternative energy sources to invest in. Solar, wind, and geothermal energy have all caught the attention of investors and consumers as oil and natural gas prices have been on the rise throughout much of 2022, making the switch to alternative energy more competitive across various applications. An alternative energy ETF that has been gaining investor attention is the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (TICKER: ICLN). With $4.8 billion assets under management, it is one of the largest alternative energy ETFs with holdings in multiple solar, wind, and energy technology companies. It has a AAA rating in ESG standards from MSCI which is the highest rating given. Another ESG ETF we have been watching is ALPS Advisors’ Clean Energy ETF (TICKER: ACES) that has $658 of assets under management. ACES has a more diverse allocation of companies involved in solar, wind, energy management and storage, bioenergy, hydrogen/geothermal, electric vehicles, and fuel cell technology. Another fund with a diverse ESG themed allocation is Northern Trust Corporation’s ESG index fund (TICKER: ESG). It has diverse holdings in major large-cap stocks investing in technology, health care, energy, and industrials. Microsoft is its largest single company holding which has a AAA rating by MSCI for ESG standards.

Source: Getty Images

Future of ESG

Investors and markets of today are much more varied and dynamic than they were 50 years ago. Investors today are generally more passionate about making a positive impact on their communities and allocating capital with purpose to ensure its being put to work for the greater good of society, the planet, and future generations. Broadridge Financial Solutions predicts that investments in ESG will reach $30 trillion by 2030. Not only are investors demanding more sustainable investment options, but they also want better corporate transparency and the application of uniformed standards to hold companies accountable. It is expected that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will issue more rigorous ESG reporting guidance and regulations for corporate disclosures on carbon emissions and environmental sustainability. While investors are interested in driving change, they also want to maintain strong portfolio returns. This doesn’t appear to have been an issue for ESG Themed Funds historically. Morningstar research found that ESG funds produce a good return on equity with lower volatility when compared to traditional funds. Environmental, Social, and Governance investing is here to stay and with the help of technology, data management, and uniform reporting, today’s investors will be more empowered to invest with purpose and include ESG holdings in their portfolios that are aligned with their investment preferences. For more information of ESG themed investments, please visit us at https://servantfinancial.com.

white-arrow