Transcript
We get music. Oh. Live here, just from video. Black rocks transition, investing Clinic. It's all new terrific Tuesday edition of business pants. Joined as always by analysts whole Matt mcgarden, special guest star. Ari the data Queen, you might trigger BlackRock with the word transition their that's their word. Now now they're doing transitioning. The train and today's ESG skeptic scented Issa tote bag of wishy-washy oil stained washcloths called March 5th. 2024 the good game, Since October. Yeah, I don't know what happened. We were I guess we were in a bad mood. I mean, don't you run this show? Isn't it? Like, I do so you're maybe you're having a bad. Since October, I have been having a bad since October. But if it's any indication I spent I can't tell you how many hours I spent this morning even finding 10. Good. Oh unbelievable. So let's let's just jump into the good game because it sounds like it's a not so good game. And let's do some fun music. Oh, it is March. Yeah, what's good? Our show today is being sponsored by free flow analytics. The only ESG data platform to measure real board influence and diversity power gaps. Here's how the good game works. I read the headline and our fabulous pundits. React on a scale from one to 10 of how good it is. This is just I don't know to get some of the negative out, we do too much negative, so let's get the positive in. It's not our fault, the world is negative but let's do it. Let's start with the BlackRock tease, the beginning of the show. Here's the headlines step aside ESG BlackRock is doing transition investing. Now, the world's biggest asset manager. Has abandoned the acronym. While pumping billions of dollars into clean energy Now, Matt, you should be so happy about this. Thank you Ari, isn't that right here? Exactly. So I wanted to do anything too. They're still, they're still investors and Enemy Number one, I wanted to kill the acronym in 2019 and 2020, when they were using it to basically pump out, ridiculous funds. That didn't have anything to do with anything because acronym was just the data set. So saying, like the ESG fund, it was like saying the Dewey Decimal fund, like it's just but now they're killing acronym, because of the political pressure around the acronym, so there I know they're killing Now, Matt wants the acronym, know, I want to reclaim it, reclaim it own your acronyms, but maybe this is a good thing, right? Because they're still, it sounds like there's still investing in the clean energy but they're just not, they're just pushing away all the noise. So, that's the hard part about this because this is the the, there's the money Pumping into clean energy is real, right? Thank you. But but Transition investing, they know that trans is not a thing that the Republicans like, oh star, they basically just made trans investing Damien. This was an easy one. Follow the money. This is a 10. What? That is? No, I love. But your money hot. I love it. Yes. She for most people only ever meant clean energy. They only ever think of the me, right? All you want. It was a kill the acronym, so just stop 2019. 20. Look, I think this is cowering in fear just by changing the language just say we're using ESG data and leave it at that, I'm giving this a two. Wow, correct answer are you on that one? The next headline under pressure From activist investors big Brands agreed to report and reduce Plastics use shareholder. Advocacy groups have already won. Plastics related. Concessions from companies including Disney Hormel and Choice Hotels, what Disney? Okay, Disney concession? I think one of the biggest Ah, Industries for Plastics. Isn't it the oil industry? Well, they make the plastic. They shockingly have a lot of plastic pollution. So I don't really care about Disney. Wow. And there would you what a whiplash? Yeah. So the companies, some of the new commitments include reporting on and reducing the amount of plastic that they use in their packages. Oh, report hazardous plastic additives. So, so again, this is just another way to win your proxy contest, right? You can threaten directors and you can all right. Yeah, I'm offer disclosure. So five disclosure, we should all be discussing. Help her out here. Well, so I actually I'm taking issue with that headline, which is what this game's about under pressure from activist investor. Yeah. Okay the activist investors are talking about are green Century Capital fund which is a long time Boston SRI fund to call them and activists in this context. Like it makes them sound like they're they're on par with trying investing. Yeah. Or just Blackwell's a lot like they're unfortunately, there are two meetings to this term activist investor. Yes, this is the more derogatory meaning. They mean like this is the one where they're like, social activists in the hippies, gluing yourself to the Mona. Lisa. Exactly. These are the good ones that are referencing in the article as you sell. So this this, this headline actually and this headline is from Grace. Yes, exactly. They don't mean it as a derogatory but no everyone else would be good. I'm with Ari, this is a five, the wind is good. What's wrong with Wayne Martin disclosure, I'm Ford disclosure but the derogatory they're not activist investors. Okay, there's there there's move on. You guys are depressing me next headline. Oh, this is a good one game is all about depressing, the best of the week. Gen Z approved clothing. Giant The North Face. Uh-huh. Is offering customers 20% off if they take a racial inclusion course, right? This headline ever, I love it. I thought you were gonna say that. They gave the company away. Like Patagonia know, let's audience have its moment. This is, this is finally a moment on the good game and it's October here. Just so, you know, this is not like, a simple little thing. This is a one hour long course, this is actual thing, this is more training that you get. This is more training, you get than if you work at Black Rock. Yeah. You know what the outdoor is pretty late. So, thank you. I was, I was gonna buy a carabiner but it's gonna call me an hour to get 20% off of it. Now, I like it, why not? They're doing good stuff. I'll give it an eight. Why not? Exactly. Usually, you have to fill out, like you put like a code in to get a stupid Cooper. Why not make? Let people make people do a thing. Yeah, I I spent my time on Retail Me, Not Looking for one code, that works to get 6% work, none of them, you know, maybe this weekend, I'll take, I'll take it and see what it's like. Oh, I like that Ari's. Best idea she's ever had. I was gonna say the Peruvian the Peruvian, immigrant woman who works. You go owns our company. Well, they don't doors, racial, sensitivity training, they have. But here is what I looked up. Yeah. The demographics that visit the North Face website because you can't figure out like who actually buys. Are and they don't have race ethnicity. They do know. I'll tell you, it's white people. Well, they're saying that it's 52% female from the US who also shop at REI Burton and Patagonia sounds very, this basically. Sounds like the Karen initiative. It's like Fantastic. Yeah, I think it's fantastic. And by the way, you're both kind of wrong. You do see a lot of North Face in urban like in cities, like, right? It's not it doesn't tell you like where and, you know, it's this is just calm free data. What I'm saying is that there are a lot of people buying North Face who've never been in the outdoors to go from, like one subway, stop to another coffee shop. This is true, but I love this. I love this in every way. I think they should give me a give me. I'm giving it a 10 and I'm giving it again because I think every company should offer some sort of, like thing, like this just for fun. I hope Kid Rock is shooting his puffer jacket by like midnight, right? I mean, this is way worse than like this way better because then, Kid Rock could basically be saying, I don't want the 20% off because I will pay Freight to avoid the Dei, that's awesome to me. Imagine Bud Light to this. Don't be so amazing. Yeah, right, 20% off of six pack, if you take trans training trains, next headline training. Here's a big news, probably the biggest headline of the of the day of the week so far. Labor unions and proxy fight at Starbucks after bargaining progress. So we, we reported earlier this week, I believe that the Strategic organizing Center and Starbucks had come to an agreement to meet at the bargaining table and because of this because of this huge shift, the soc has withdrawn, its proxy contest. Trying to get three directors on board. What you're what, what, what's with that sound effect? Here's what is all part of a good thing? Is this one of the reasons why here's a quote female fighting proxy contest. Here's the quote from the filing quote shareholders are optimistic. The company is committed to these changes in good faith. This is how negotiations work. Yeah. How to give a little, get a little you. Yeah, the give was, we will no longer subject you to our slate, which might have won a seat on your board. I love, I love your optimism. Not no one on their slate. Was gonna get above 8% of the vote. Probably not. I think this makes Howard Schultz sad, which makes yes seven. Um, look I more I think this shovels under the rug things that actually could have gone to vote like ISS, wrote in, in their support of, in their rejection of soc directors and their support of Starbucks directors, they wrote that the new Starbucks directors appeared and this is a quote up here to be thoughtful about these issues. There was, there was a deep fucking analysis, there's an appearance of an education, like somebody looked at them and they're like, look like someone who might care about this shirt tucked in. Yeah, he's looking. Okay, we are a little alive. Like I know that the soc slate was unlikely to win. They might have won one at most but it was unlikely to win anything. But the fact is I SS comes out in support of. We did Lewis came out in support of Starbucks directors, what we said in our proxy countdown, Was the Slate that Starbucks has put forth is amazing. If the only thing you want is growth of an unregulated drug at all costs. They were an awesome slate for that. Right. That's right. Said and if you want guardrails that involve either labor guard rails, which is what the soc slate, or any other guard rails, which no slate. No one in either slate really offers This is not the board for you. So, what is happening is the one chance you have to make a point that these directors are largely compromised. They're largely interconnected, they largely vote with themselves. We've taken off the table for quote optimistic. Good faith. That's what where I don't agree with you, is that this was part of the reason to propose this late in the first place was to move forward. The negotiation with the unions. I get it but there's a bigger issue of play that SSC is drug it becomes myopic, right? We're only focused entirely on our one issue which was negotiate with the unions. Rather than saying the system by which these people make decisions is broken and we are that's what we're here for. Matt, that's not what the soc is here for well, but they they're the ones with the Slate. We don't have any slates up, so I'm going to give this a four. I'm just I want to be wrong. So consistently, I was It. Well I'm all my answers are correct today. Does it feel that that you're sitting by a woman who's always right? And you're like, what I hear is that we need a slate, I see yeah we need to play. Yeah, that's right. Next headlines late there is another good one. Jamie dimon takes a stand by signing JP Morgan up as the first big bank, to reveal a key. Clean energy metric to investors. So he's struck an agreement, with three, New York City Pension funds and to disclose the ratio of its clean energy to fossil fuel financing. Look, the point being that, he's the only one to have done it. Just remember the time he took this, because Matt was Jibber Jabra, he was struck an agreement with three, New York City, Pension funds to disclose the ratio of its clean energy to fossil fuel financing. Oh geez. No one else Skeptic. But progress is slow. I like it, thank you. The largest investors and financiers of fossil fuels disclosing this metric. Can only really mean one thing that really fucking good on this metric, right? Okay. Um, the only reason why you stand up and do it first. Is if you don't suck at it like there's no way they were going to stand up. That's good. It's good. They don't suck at it, except that like, isn't it like a pseudo greenwash? If you're like, will if you're like, I don't know. I I show me how this game works. Matt, it's a everything is like is pure influence in this this corporate disclosure world, right? I mean that's the only way we got to 30% on the board. Yes, only way we've made progress in this ESG, Rome. I'm just saying that. Like, let me look at the vote of the Pension funds that they made this agreement with and the roading for the entire Board of JP Morgan year. And in year out unless Impressed if like I don't know, man. I like being the first one to report. A metric. Does not seem like something we should be freaking cheering for out here. Show me. Yeah, they should all show me. But what's your terrible score? Yeah, I'm gonna give it a five because it's not like the worst. It's just nothing Burger to me. Oh, let's move on. Let's talk about our proxy contest. Favorite parks are kind of just going over at Disney Tree in. We have made fun of treant trying. You know, Nelson, we made fun of them for weeks, because we don't really know what their plan is. They've finally released 132 page. Well, yeah. I'm in the middle of white papers and quotes because it's really just a slide for the next 100 Years of Disney or what. But, here's the takeaway. Here's why I put it in the good game. The headline, is it trying blames? Poor oversight for Disney's problem, and its push for board seats. And one of its slide says and which is why I know, Should invest in our company. One of the slides, says, the root cause of underperformance is a board that we believe lacks Focus alignment. So he's, he's blaming the board for just about everything, the man with mediocre performance on every board. He's okay mode. He is supporting the reason why our company. Now this Matt, I 100% like this. That's already just ran for those of you who don't have our data. Are you just ran how every board member is connected to any other board member in the last 15 years and like one you can just see like so and so is on the board of such and such with. So and so on the board it just gives you these loops and you realize in the last 15 years they're 80,000 active directors right now and over the last 15 years is what 200,000 active director, 20,000 active directors in the last 15 years. Hundred and five thousand connections between them. There's a thousand connections between like, like inside two degrees. So it's bananas how in, like, basically insert boards are. It's just a web of here's fist bumps and Disney. There's only one director who isn't connected to the other board members just okay. Roman. Here's a cold connected from the council foreign relations to everybody else. So he's actually connected. Just not on other boards. The white paper says, we believe the root cause of Disney's underperformance, is a board that suffers from a culture that impedes oversight in Lexington accountability, the directors, despite having seemingly impressive, resumes and individual accolades, gas in our view, last Focus alignment and accountability He's calling out to all the Geniuses over. I know that Calvert's listening right now because I know Calvert has this special, like podcast Radio, that they all gather around. Listen, that's all the Geniuses at Calvert. I think you might want to look at our data because we, we assess the performance of individual directors, at these companies and Nelson would love it. Nelson would love it. Well, here's what I think. I'm not going to, I'm going to push back against my instincts because I'm like, 40, 30, 40 pages into trance presentation, and they have not one suggestion yet. It's just Disney, stocks, Disney stuff. J Zillow, and Elsa suggestions know, Jay rasulo, the former CF but they don't have any strategic suggestions so far in the first 30 or 40 strategy matters for the magic. That's the Stratford magic, but blaming the board and managing you is 100%. This is who we are, right? The right, the right. You gonna be pissed at them. That's who you're not focused its attention. Yes, it's a 1080, the audience loves it. Up next, CVS and Walgreens to start selling the abortion pill this month. I mean they're gonna merge and I'm like, wait a minute. Is not good. That sucks. That would be antitrust. Well. Okay, this is good, right? I have this over the counter. This isn't this good. Yeah, they announced this. I had one of my stories a couple months ago. I got to find something here. After the Alabama Supreme Court rules that, you know, I that ibf situation that the embryos essentially are people, what are they, what is it? What do they said? They were the Frozen born people or people's? So like that at least there's like some thing going on. That could be good for somebody, probably in a blue state only though. I'm assuming they're not going to sell these and red States. Well, assess. How much should we thinks to final piscina for Walgreens? She's 65% influence. He's handing those out. He's he's the guy, he's the guy behind the counter, like yours yours. I'm gonna give this a Tony and yeah, why not? I am not going to give this 10 obviously and not for anything to do with this. But it's it does a little bit seem like A two pharmacies act as pharmacies sell drug. That is legal in places. I don't like what we're seeing. We're seeing. So many institutions Buck like, pre cave to the anti-wolf. Anti-esg crowd that at least they're pushing forward to make some money off of this. Yeah, oh, so good. I'm happy that they're making money. I'm taking, this is the good game. I'm looking for victory is anywhere. We can after that, IVF decision this to me is a victory. The only problem is that they're, they're not gonna sell this by mail, which is absolutely bulshit to me. We are still, I mean, we're still a federal country of 50 states. I mean, the I can't buy this over the male is ridiculous. I'm giving this a six, it's like that moving on. here's one that we talked about in the past but I want you to officially weigh in on Elon Musk Sue's open Ai and Sam Altman for violating. The company's principles musk said The prominent AI startup had put profit and Commercial interests ahead of seeking to benefit Humanity. And again I don't ever, I don't care and I'm putting him in my good game. So breaking news, breaking news and let me give you a quote from this actually open, AI has been transformed into a closed Source. De facto subsidiary of the largest technology company Microsoft. Yeah, it's part of yeah, open AI is now closed W. Part of my problem is that this like the lawyers looking to get five billion dollars in fees, six billion for clawing back, the money from Elon Musk. This feels like Elon Musk just going after his competitors biggest competitor for AI. That's all this is, it's not, he started his own AI company. So if you're talking about for the benefit of humanity, maybe your own AI company should be open so Matt. But but if we're angry that they fired, the only two women who had Yeah we are open and the board that we should. That's the only reason why we could get behind this is because he's making the case that the board did its job when they fired Altman at the when they fired him. That's the only reason why you could get behind. This is your score 10. No no no no no no, no, no. I think you don't get the hell, are you? I like that. It's happening. Yeah, if it wasn't Elon Musk in the subject of the sentence you would probably be more excited about it, right? Maybe yeah. Maybe. Okay, what's your score match? Crazy people can do good. I'm gonna give this a seven. It's it's it's it's still good. It's still good. Still good but it's not 10. Good. Come on, dial it. Back to have two more headlines for the good game. March 5th 2024 the next one. Oh, another lawsuit. The New York this, I think this is the city know. This is the state of New York is suing JBS. The world's largest meat Packer to Brazilian meat Packer and the New York is suing them over sustainability claims accusing them of misleading customers, with claims, it can reduce its carbon footprint, despite know despite his growth plans. So they JBS has a commitment to be Net. Zero by 240. In Latisha James, the same woman, who's who, who is, you know, tried Donald Trump is saying, bulshit and we're suing you what? What about like? Gel when they're like, oh everybody, she can't get everybody. Yeah, but you went with JBS the meat Packer like this. So are you? I'm just wondering. Maybe let me tell you why. Maybe there's somebody on JBS issues. Like I don't know. Well, okay, I actually have some data here according to our data. Jose Bautista sobrino is the 90 year old founder and board member who controls 76% of influence JBS and overall. They the people who run that company are it's only 15% women only 15, that's two of 14 Executives. One, one out of 10 physical Council two at a 9 board members, so maybe she's just upset that it's a, it's a nasty meaty pitcher. Yeah. But I, I think this is fine except except in as much as we could come up with 20, 40 50. Examples. Okay. Of companies that have set a net zero Target that has no one plan. One person that are in the US jurisdiction where you're more likely to win but presidents if you win they they have there's a president That's how this big AG is no, big meat, it is big meat. I'm gonna give this five, it's good and not good, I don't care, I don't understand. Matt's five and let's end the good game with this headline. And a good game. It's best idea ever. This is gonna. Trigger, Matt, here's the headline. Millionaire banking boss. Says, ESG investing is good for business. If that makes me woke. Shoot me. This is Standard Chartered CEO. Bill winter's. Not phase. That's he showing how not woke. He is. Yeah. At this headline, though, for those who don't know, unfortunately, Standard Chartered is not an American company happened to be in the UK. So they're not really part of the same, although actually that's not true. The UK is more and more. A part of this UK has been heavy on. The prime minister is heavy heavily anti-walk I I will say that Standard Chartered for as long as I was back at the mothership at msci. When I like way back in the day, when I was actually hand analyzing all these Banks and analyzing, I mean getting every piece of data by hand and then doing the analysis how you get your milk in the morning. Is that right hand? Analyzing a Standard Chartered was year and year out top rated company. Is that right in your house? Yeah, no joke. Always, this is a bit like your Jamie Diamond thing. Then maybe the only reason why he cares is that it's he's good at it, they did. However, after I stopped to analyzing the companies having no relation to my analyzing, however, find themselves, stripping IDs off of transactions, coming out of sanctioned come countries and like, like so, they would there, you're not supposed to as a bank, be doing any business in Iran but they'd strip the IDS off and do. Us in Iran and he came out the same. I actually was the prior CEO came out and said, how dare you tell us where we can and can't do business. So they've had some problems in the past. They're like, oh, that Matt guys now looking anymore. Yeah, that's exactly what they say. This is the Run. Matt is no longer doing the analysis, so I forgot the headline. Oh, that guy was like, I like, is she shoot me? Okay, exactly, yes, she investing is good for business. If that makes me woke shoot me. Seven. Seven. Let's let's reveal the scores for the week. This is a this is a banner week for Arie the data Queen. Let's start with math score. Matt Matt is consistently comes in at 6 for basically every week and that's the score for this week. A nice 6.4. That's a six. I was right. Usually like a 5.2 usually like a 5.7 and we give you round up to a six but Ari arii this week rounding up to a nine. I didn't have any zeros. I didn't notice a nine. How good could this? Like, I didn't hate any of them. Yes, amazing. It's a motorcycle. Good game. I just wanted those show to be over. She was just like, yeah, I'm done. And for those of you who like the good game and are happy that the good game is back in the Ari, is back that we will be doing the good game. Now, consistently on a bi-weekly basis, we'll be doing the good game and then the next week on Tuesday, we'll do the Nuggets and the back to the good game. And I'm gonna stop because I think you get the pattern because you what is it? They appear to our audience appears to be not. Listen, Now, what is the? What did the ISS say? Oh here our audience has the appearance of thoughtfulness that's already the data queen. I'm your anus old man, scary. We are free float. We'll be back to you on Friday to wrap the week but we got a proxy countdown coming. Oh yeah, I'm talking about, we are devices. Also go look to 18, ESG Insight Awards, that's a mouthful, just Google it, 18 Free float analytics is up for best governance data provider in the world. We are up against Isaacs. We are up against these other firms that have investment bankers and BC backing. Our data's better and we're just a couple of idiots. So go vote for us because if we win, I want to shove it in their faces and get a tattoo on my chest that says, ESG Insight Awards, 2024, best governance data, provider until later, goodbye.