Transcript
Live. I haven't said that in a while from cold Back Mountain. It's 2023 seconds. Walk data Wednesday, featuring. Matt mascardi Lord of bored sabermetrics. I missed this the ceremony where you got knighted I did. I was it was beautiful. It was in a field, I don't believe no one attended that I believe. I'm the Duke of Sussex and today is licorice. Staying back called January 11th. 2023, random wokie, ESG, e, headlines that clickbait me. Oh yeah. All right. Here. And The Lord that being you discusses his data Empire. Ooh, I'm excited about that. Wait, I do. Yeah. Well don't you kind of a little bit? Give us a peek into the data Empire. I hope so I don't have that much. Okay, let's do this. But first Today's Show is sponsored by Sage your ESG Data Solutions provider. Actually we have a Paul Paul's coming by later in the show to Grace us with some of the stopping by ESG data. Yeah, let's just say that. Let's say he stopping by. Let's pretend he's gonna be in even though actually he lives in Maine, so he could stop by I'll send him a text, right? How does a British guy end up in Maine? Did we let do we let British immigrants in this country? I thought we had immigrant problems. I'll Prince Harry's here. He lives here. That's right. He does. He lives? He lives here and it's like and all I hear about is him now and anymore. It's like tell me. We're covering Prince. Harry saying stuff about a family. No one cares about all right, those things come on. That's not gonna do. That's not good. Give me something better. Oh, I like that. All right, let's do this. Okay. I'm just gonna run actually like that music. Oddly enough. All right, and no particular order. Let's start with this one. The headline is Virginia governor says ESG. Transparency, has gone too far. Oh no, this is a Glen. Youngkin, the former co-head of Carlyle Group. So he's in our world, he's in our universe. So we're allowed out, we knew about him because he was already Coen. This one's confusing. Matt. I don't understand this and the headline is deliciously clickbaity for the ESG world. He says Is having world-class transparency and governance a good thing. Yes. It's a really good thing. That's what he said, and he said, I don't know. And then he said, ESG means different things to different people. It's just does. Okay. That's true. That's true. That's true. He says investment firms are telling companies. If you don't do X and we're gonna penalize you as a best with you, I don't help me out with this. I I think what he's doing is taking the opposite. I think he's trying to be the anti DeSantis here. I think he's trying not to pull rise people, right? He's trying to be the Republican that says, Hey, right. I mean he really, he sounds like us. He's saying it's actually good and there's different ways to use the data, right? Is he uses? He uses he realizing there's no penalty. Yeah there, I don't know, he's talking about there. I don't know what he means by that. He is right about ESG means different things to different people though. I like he yeah. Am I am I right? Matt. Is he is he is he being the Like they have a sustainability team. And of course they used ESG data, or at least they said, in fact, they're one of the leaders in the private Equity world look, Matt four. Yes, she so only weirdos at this, only only weirdos at this point. Think he is she is something crazy but he can't go out and say Yes G is a woke mind virus when he was the head he said that no that's Santa said right? That's what this is right but he knows he's got to talk the talking points of anti-esg. So he's trying to like he's being moderate DeSantis. Where he's saying, look, we know that governance and transparency is good but it's just being now taken too far. He's not calling it woke. I'm gonna be honest, I don't like this guy map but I'm gonna cheer him. Oh no, you didn't even let me cheer him because I cut it off because at least this isn't stupid. All right, let's move on. That's the bar here, Matt. It's not if it's not stupid, I'm okay with that. All right, that's right. Oh, let's play. Let's speaking of stupid. Let's play a little game ISS publishes a proxy voting guidelines updates for 2023. First of all, who can believe how much time I spent in this crazy PDF for me ISS. Why? Why do this to myself again? Welcome back. Here we go. I turned this into a game. Here's the game. In honor of our Guest next week. Vivek ramaswamy. I the game is how much would Vivic hate this, on a scale of one to 10 and you're going to be, you're gonna play Vivica, how much? Oh, okay. How much are you, or he, how much did he gonna hate this skill? One being shuttered, the back and I I just picked up some highlights. Here we go. Okay, first of all, this is a new one, they added some non-binary language. It's not a it's not a huge deal, they're talking about boating against directors, when there are no women on the board, but there's a one year grace period. If there's at least one director who is disclosed as identifying as non-binary. So I want to know how much would this trigger trigger, verific just to have ISS talking about non-binary? That's a problem that's a problem, okay? Because what we've identified is has nothing to do with the board members abilities. It has everything to do with the way they physically identify it, nothing right should do with Excellence, capitalism, and I was gonna say, yes, yes, invizx world. If you're a woman or non-binary, it diminishes excellence. And I'm not saying that as a gag, there's, there's actually proof of this later in the show. All right, this is a 10, all right, moving on. This is core hate. Oh, this is a good one. ISS will generally vote against directors. If the company employs a common stock structure with unequal voting rights, this is big to me because this someone's finally agreeing with us that you should stop the nonsense stop. Stop the dual-class, voting nonsense. Stop letting CEOs and Founders really good to be 11 years late on this like one of the biggest world in facebook slash meta is the is precipitating this problem to me. This is anti-democracy to have these on equal voting rights as anti-democracy, anti-america Hate this. I think this is a five for Vivic, okay, he's right because he's confused because a I think this is a bit confusing, but be, he was a startup founder. Regardless, of the fact that the startup Was something, not even remotely related to this. So he likes the idea of the founder, owning the control its private individual liberties. I should be able to set whatever shares for your diet, tell me. Yeah, exactly. But he also has now in the investor side has to say is all about democracy and exercise your shareholder vote, share your voice. And you know like that means that company can be woke with no strings attached. You have no, right? So I think he'd be confused. Yeah, I'm gonna go you. This one's a softball. The next one. If a company considered to be a significant greenhouse gas. Emitter does not adequately disclosed climate risk. Disclosure for me, SS, will generally recommend a vote against blah, blah, blah. I mean, come on, this is a softball terrible. Yeah, I hate this. This is This is essentially socialism at work. This is the, the woke mind police, right? This is, you can't ask companies to take. Climate risks, seriously, right? Can't do that. Just he just launched Stripes education program. I saw the video yesterday and which he said, the top five questions. You should ask your financial advisor. The top five questions? No. This isn't. They didn't qualify this by saying, yeah. They just said these are the top five questions you should ask number one was, did your company do a racial audit? You know man I love this and you didn't even look at my script. You're actually jumping to my next headlight so let's let's go let's just jump. It was carbon emissions. What are it? Good give me. Let's just jump ahead of that because because we're really sort of on a Vivic path. Right now. We don't have to sorry issue, you know, you could have had some more airtime but you know if you want more call us sponsor us be a part of us like yeah like Escape. So let's move on to that. Actually that article you're referencing to. This is my next clickbaity choice this week. It's an article by Vivic called. Are you investing in woke political activism, five questions. You need to ask and Matt. You're right. The first question is have I invested in any fun? The first this is what this is, what this is what's alarming to me. And I'm gonna there's more of this coming in the show and I, and I think we've hinted at this before, but we now have basic proof that the anti-esg movement is a white supremacist movement. Is it all? It's an, it's a misogynistic, white supremacist movement. Why is it the first question, have I invested in any funds that voted my shares in favor of a racial Equity audit? Why is that the most important thing on his mind? You know, what's funny about this and I'm gonna pre take a little bit of credit because we're going to do a prediction show. I think tomorrow and Friday but one of my predictions from the beginning of 2022 was the rise of the angry, White Zombie director. And those would be white male directors, who refused to leave due to a push and diversity. They don't want to leave the board and give it up to like a diverse person. Don't want to give up Excellence. I'm saying this is this would be like racial Equity Audits and there's nothing to do with more diversity, nothing. Matt know, I'm saying is like the the years calling a white supremacist movement, and I'm saying like this is the backlash, right? This is part of it, this is part of it and you know what? I stumbled and who is neither White's nor supremacist. And here's what well, he might not be white, but he might be a supremacist. Well, you know, I mean, I wish there was a political litmus test I could do. And what don't forget, it was only a few weeks ago, right before I left for my vacation, that Donald Trump. Trump met with a latino man who was a white supremacist, Nick Fuentes and a black man who was also saying he loves Hitler and hates the Jews. So I mean you don't have to be white to be a white supremacist. So I guess, I guess ESG is also one in a very sad direction as well. Does make me think it brought diversity to the white supremacist meeting. I'm discriminated against possible supremacists, just don't know what's going on anymore. But here's what I stumbled upon that, I can't believe, I was too stupid to realize vivek's. His whole motto now is America must revive its shared national identity of Excellence. Okay? Revive identity national identity of Excellence. Matt, this is just a very lazy rephrasing of Donald, Trump's white supremacist message. Make America great again. It's not you, when was America great again, like, what time was it in the, it was gonna be pretty civil rights movement. No, has to really that that when you could go to a water fountain and trust that it was only touched but the beautiful lips of Excellence. Is that not what we're talking about here? Revive shared national identity of Excellence. This this is I'm this is scary stuff to me. I'm sorry. This is weird stuff. It's weird. I want a longer description of the lips of Excellence. I hope it on that. I'm excited to talk to David. I hope he becomes a regular part of the show, but I hope he doesn't just throw talkin points. As I hope he actually gets involved in these stupid conversations. We're having You. Well I know he won't. All right, let's move on. Next thing that clickbait me, Matt basically the mainstream media has stolen us stolen. The way we talk about life. Here's our, here's a headline from business crediting us yet, never the house of represent, this is the actual headline, the House of Representatives will have more guys named Mike than women, chairing committees under the new Republican majority. This Is Us Yeah, I mean, that's us. That's how we speak. but, Know this week, we started this. So should I be excited? Because this is the headline is very reminiscent of things that we say like credit for something. John. I want more. Should I be disenchanted by the fact that he can't? You be both, you know what we need. A racial Equity audit of the Committees of the house. No, we need more friends at places like Bloomberg and financial times. They need to start crediting us for for all the Brilliance. We have. You don't have any friends at all so that was yeah. How are we doing that? All right, moving on. Uh oh Kentucky, I call this one. He bought. We we already. I don't like it. It's called we boycott your boycott. What? Kentucky threatens to divest from 11 Banks over ESG policies. The treasurer there in Kentucky, Allison ball. Found there to be an active boycott of fossil fuel companies going on from some of the, you know, from some of the banks like BlackRock and JP Morgan Matt. There's no active boycott of So first of all, JP Morgan is the light largest financier in the world of oil and gas fossils. But she said there's an active boycott. So here's what I did because I saw that headline, it was a couple weeks ago when you were away because, oh, I'm sorry, it was just turned up again, new, I don't know that. So what I did was I went and I read all of the actual Treasurer releases on how that like putting together the list and all that kind of stuff. Here's the methodology they used to put together the list of energy boycotters that so they could boycott them, right? Yeah. They a went to the companies and sent them letters a sample, a smattering of companies sent them letters, saying, please describe your boycotting and when the companies responded, if they didn't agree, And or if the company didn't respond, they went and read their websites. And if they felt like they boycott they put them on the list. I am not kidding. When I tell you that was the methodology, there was Zero data in the methodology. This this actually reminds me of the first day of kindergarten when we had our first ESG lesson, this was kind of how it feel. If you feel like it's something, if yeah, if it makes you feel this way, it's good enough. That that's, that's quite quantitative. We are basically doing feelings based policy. Now, that's what it is. Congratulations. That was, it was great, Alison. Join us on the show. Tell us about your feelings. Yeah, actually all everything about your feelings. Actually, I do. Let's not really, but I do join us. Let's reach out. That would be great. Here's the next headline. There's a lot there's a lot here, Matt. Horton's you. You probably ran across this one. Here's the head like Wharton's. Majoring Wharton the, the business school Penn Ivy. Yeah, little pen work. Yeah. Okay, it's a tough word. It's tough work. Wharton's. Majoring in woke capitalism. That's that's the headline. Although it says some are taking an elective and dissent, let's hear, here's the highlights Wharton is offering a major and not only ESG but in diversity equity and inclusion Okay. Wow. And of course the author of this article is is all in a titter because he said that the nation's first business school was founded in 1881 by Joseph Wharton, an industrialist who made a killing in Mining and Manufacturing the sorts of dirty industries that ESG proponents his favor. So he's all in a titter about this Um, so I actually I I know the professor. Oh yeah, I quote him in this. Go ahead, go ahead. We told yes. And I can say that. This is actually a major in capitalism. Like he's a very nice man, but he wrote two or three of some of the most excoriating, CSG ratings, and data papers that I've read like He's a prone of stakeholder capitalism. No, not think he was a fan of ESG. Right? So much as not a fan of ESG. So I think well, what right? Isn't that academics? You'd like you're getting underneath the skin of a topic and you're confused like bivik with that previous ISS? Yeah, mandate they're confused here. Okay, let's focus on a few classes in this, by the way. Maybe they will. um, here's one graduate said, By creating a major in ESG at Wharton, you're helping to legitimize it, that's true. Yeah, good. I just thought that was funny that quote it's like yeah, right. Okay, what else can you major in like? Basket weaving like I don't know. Does that legitimized the thing really actually that that comes in later this that he does? Well I had later Warren's accelerating push into ESG has coincided with the 2020 appointment of black woman. Erica James is Dean of the school. So again All these all hints. Really that the anti-s movement is just a white supremacist push. It's all it is. Why do we so aggrieved about people, basically getting jobs that they deserve? Because why is problematic? Because this is part of a white supremacy movement. One recent Wharton graduate said that indoctrination, in ESG, subjects is baked into business schools. Before students. Even enter them, he said starts right in the application, the top Business Schools asked how are you going to change the world? He believes such leading questions naturally. Lend themselves to emphasize ESG so he couldn't, you change the world for the worst or couldn't. You may just make more money right on your business school application. I plan on killing Jews that will change. Body not to go there. What? Well, that's like, imagine that being the business school application. This is not. This is how trigger these people who come though, I mean, just like because you could change the world, just by developing a technology, a 6G technology fused with an AI chatbot, right? That's ESG to them because you change the world I think they did that already. But can you can you wasn't it the left in America that was supposed to be snowflakes. Like why? Like it trigger snowflakes. You say the word change and they lose their minds. Like The Graduate, the graduate student added that when major investment Banks came to campus to recruit students the whole Wall Street. Recruiting process was chalk full of d e, i stuff, he is stuff. That's the quote one person's opinion like one. So you know know supposedly is it According to the author, a lot of the graduates refused to be named because they were afraid of being, you know, being, you know, singled out by the angry woke up. Vivek. It was also interviewed for this article. He said that the inclusion of the ESG, Dei major goes hand in glove with affirmative action, which lowers the overall quality of students. Wow, I mean really, I don't know again. Like I don't know why they're beating this drum, but it makes them look foolish. Honestly makes them look foolish. I mean I I like This deeply personal about that like that reaction, right? Like why would you what would you think that like why would that be your? Your lived is, I don't. Wow, that's great. And finally, just like what your your basket weaving reference, Another critic and deep putter, former CEO of C. He Enterprise is said, I don't think there's anything wrong with me in ESG or Dei, but I suspect it will be much, like, majoring in gender studies. See, it's just it's constant is constantly either. Something about like race or gender how they turned it into that, because ESG, the data sets were, it's it's like a monstrous amount of stuff to choose terrible. It's really Next Level. I'm really, I'm upset. And please and finally, to segue over to our to Paul Hodgson and Matt mascardi who are going to talk about some data, the last thing. Yeah, I know the last thing that clickbait me was this 2023 ESG data predictions from CSR hub. These are pretty boring predictions. Yes, so boring. I'm gonna skip over the first two to the last one. Okay. And that is they say more new Tools in data sets. They said. In 2023, we expect some new tool ideas. We're at us. We're the tools. Yeah. All right, come on. What do you got? All right, let's transition me somehow, you know, something doing something and let's go to I have a few Boomerang stats for you, okay, this is from. Where'd you get these stats? Okay, first of all, I got these from our board saber metrics and there are only a couple here. I just be available here, we have available through us. The important thing about this is if you're wondering how Vince McMahon and Bob Iger can go out, leave their companies and go into the wide world and one for sexual harassment. The other one because he's riding a white pony into the distance and then suddenly returned in a tsunami of stupidity, to run the companies again and be a white knight of some kind or a sexual harassing night, whatever the case may be. If you're wondering how that keeps happening, we actually have statistics to show yes where that might happen again, not just anecdotes. I mean yes you can anecdotally just explain why Vince McMahon came. Back. But we actually have the data to prove that there was a power vacuum left in his absence. So, here's what I did. I looked at 250,000, directors. Oh, and I like in the last five years, and I identified the ones that were CEOs of the company will stop being CEOs and their, and found companies where there wasn't a founder or family member on the board, but they write no one sucking up all the power in their absence, these people tended to have outside influence. In fact, the average influencer was 22% of those people. They're not, these are people who are not the current CEOs and they own. Almost a quarter on average of the power of the company is where they sit. The, here's some examples because I know you like examples, everybody likes a good example. How about Dick's Sporting Goods? Yeah, yeah. So, Ed stack, right? Is the current CEO of or was the CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods recently? Now, yes, now is sitting on the board and he has 37% of the influence despite now, now not being the CEO anymore, he's just sitting on the board collecting a paycheck. So the minute that Dick's Sporting Goods has a problem. Who do you think they're going to call to be the acting CEO? It sounds like Ed stack is sitting on a red hot boomerang. That's all I'm gonna say. He's CEO. Ed stack, you heard it here first? You heard it here first. Ed stack, how about Mark Fields? Oh yeah. Of Hertz Global car. Rental also sitting on a red hot, Boomerang, or maybe Gary carrano of Caesars Entertainment. Yeah, my point here is sure if you're you're worried, if you don't like the Vince McMahon thing, we identified companies where there is a power vacuum on the board that's filled by an ex CEO or by what I'm calling founder rings. What's that founder rang? These are X founders Their founders of the company, not really X, their founders of the company sitting on the boards of the company that are no, but they're no longer CEOs. So they're still on the board, they're just waiting. They're still on the board and there's 416 of them. And this is out of like, 80,000 current records. The average influence they have over their companies is 51%. That's too much influence. Wait is Jay Jeff Bezos? Is he still on the board on the board and he's probably the the most notorious? Yes. The most notorious potential Boomerang or founder Rings. CEO got to be Jeff Bezos. You know, he's coming back, you know, it's coming back this most. Yeah, and in fact, we just saw a headline in analyst the Wall Street analysts asked the question, should Jeff Bezos, come back because Andy jassy sucks. I think that he should come back just to correct your, your pronunciation of his last name, just for that. One reason, a Bezos Bezos. You say bay. I say, B and that's that's your Free flow board, saber metrics stat of the day. If you wonder where the boomerangs are and the founder rings are, we've got them. Look, I I have to repeat myself the reason why I love these this data, and these stats that we keep coming up with that's that we own. Is that it? Finally we're putting data and stats behind Things that were typically anecdotes typically ESG storytelling. We actually have the data now it's real before we get out of here. Matt do you want to let Paul in? Paul. Come on in, sit down and tell us something. We will tell you can tell us something totally uninterrupted. This is Paul Hodgson from ESG, your ESG data provider other than us Hello there. Paul Hudson with the skates statistic of the week. This is just a quickie about stalking. The ship guidelines and retention policies in the S&P 500. So the good news is that 96% of companies have publicly disclosed to stock ownership guidelines for their CEO and their other executive officers and almost two thirds. In fact have retention policies in place as well. So that policies would require Executives to hold on to those chefs. Um, the vast majority measure stock ownership as a multiple of base salary. 93%, in fact, so it's a very common way of going about it. And the time period for meeting stock ownership guidelines is typically five years at 69% of the S&P 500. Although, you know, almost, a quarter, don't actually disclose what the time period is for meeting those guidelines. Now, the retention policies that are in place are mostly. Apply until guidelines are met. So Executives have to hold on to the shares and they meet their stock ownership guidelines at 70%. There's a further, 26% have retention policies in place for the period where guidelines are not met or not met in time. So again, it's a very similar situation to to until guidelines are met. So, that's the best of geology there. Now, while it's great, in fact, it's commendable that. So many companies have stock ownership guidelines for the CEOs and other NEOS. There really only commendable if they're actually meaningful. So, next week, I'm going to look at what those stock ownership guidelines actually are as a multiple of base salary. So, this is Paul Hodgson signing off with ESG statistic of the week. Thank you all. I like how he just comes in. Comes in the studio talks. He doesn't say hi. He just leaves. Never sticks around to talk to have conversation. Honestly, it's very serious, very serious deal. He gets down to business and he gets the hell out. It's the way business should be done just like we do business here at free flow. That statement or else? I'm Matt. Scotty, we are free float. We invented board saber metrics. It came from our brains and you should buy it because it's good. So do that. Otherwise we have Vivek next week, but tomorrow and Friday, are we doing two days? What? Why predictions? Two days, 2023 predictions, two days of it. I don't know. That's what I heard terrible. That's what I heard Jesse wants to do two days. I think terrible idea. Well, blame the money whisper, that's it. We back. To Friday. Till then, goodbye.