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Environmental, Social, and Governance ( ) Principles and Criteria are a set of standards for a company’s behavior used by socially conscious investors to screen potential investments.

Key points to know:

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are used to screen investments based on corporate policies and to encourage companies to act responsibly.

Many mutual funds, brokerage firms, and robo-advisors now offer investment products that employ ESG criteria.

ESG criteria can also help investors avoid investment losses when companies engaged in risky or unethical practices are held accountable.

The rapid growth of ESG investment funds in recent years has led to claims that companies have been insincere or misleading in touting their ESG accomplishments.

Investors have, in recent years, shown interest in putting their money where their values are.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚?
Alpha (α) is a term used in investing to describe an investment strategy's ability to beat the market, or its "edge." Alpha is thus also often referred to as “excess return” or “abnormal rate of return,” which refers to the idea that markets are efficient, and so there is no way to systematically earn returns that exceed the broad market as a whole. Alpha is often used in conjunction with beta (the Greek letter β), which measures the broad market's overall volatility or risk, known as systematic market risk.

Alpha is used in finance as a measure of performance, indicating when a strategy, trader, or portfolio manager has managed to beat the market return over some period. Alpha, often considered the active return on an investment, gauges the performance of an investment against a market index or benchmark that is considered to represent the market’s movement as a whole.

The excess return of an investment relative to the return of a benchmark index is the investment’s alpha. Alpha may be positive or negative and is the result of active investing. Beta, on the other hand, can be earned through passive index investing.



Source: Investopedia

To all our members: We are so proud of all your accomplishments this year — and we just can’t wait to see what you do in the next

“May this season find you among those you love, sharing in the twin glories of generosity and gratitude."

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Investors are adding to the big gains we saw for US equity markets to start the week. The major averages are up, but only slightly. Trading volume is light.

Inflation and a possible pullback in Federal Reserve economic stimulus remains in focus for the markets. Later today, investors will be listening to what Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will say about the future of Fed policy during his testimony before a House subcommittee.

The price of Bitcoin fell below $30,000 for the first time in five months. That dragged down shares of Coinbase (COIN) and other cryptocurrency-exposed companies. Bitcoin has since recovered some of its losses but remains lower.

Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) are declining after European regulators began an antitrust investigation into its advertising business. Shares of meme stock favorite GameStop (GME) are higher after the company raised more than $1 billion in a stock sale.

Crude oil is down half a percent, but still above $73 a barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield is also about half a percent lower.

Trading the Non-Farm Payroll Report

The non-farm payroll (NFP) report is a key economic indicator for the United States. It is intended to represent the total number of paid workers in the U.S. minus farm employees, government employees, private household employees and employees of nonprofit organizations.1
The non-farm payroll report causes one of the consistently largest rate movements of any news announcement in the forex market. As a result, many analysts, traders, funds, investors, and speculators anticipate the NFP number and the directional movement it will cause.

Key points:

✔ Non-farm payrolls (NFP) are an important economic indicator related to employment in the U.S.
✔ Understanding this data release can help set up forex trades to take advantage of unexpected changes in employment.
✔ Technical analysis can be employed to the NFP report using 5- or 15-minute chart intervals.

Analyzing the Non-Farm Report Numbers:

✔ A higher payroll figure is good for the U.S. economy. This is because more job additions help to contribute to healthier and more robust economic growth.
✔ An expected change in payroll figure causes a mixed reaction in the currency markets. Forex investors witnessing an expected change in the NFP report will turn to other sub-components and items to gain some sort of direction or insight.
✔ A lower payroll figure is detrimental for the U.S. economy.

U.S. Equities Rally as Inflation Fears Subside

U.S. markets started strong and stayed strong as tech stocks took the lead, with the rising 1.41% behind the mega caps. The S&P 500 charged nearly 1% higher as recovery-related stocks surged anew amid U.S. -19 cases and hospitalizations hitting their lowest levels since June. Given the crowds around stadiums, golf tournaments, and city centers this weekend, U.S. consumers are taking the removal of mask-wearing and social distancing restrictions seriously.

prices surged 3.79% on the spike in demand and a possible hitch in the Iran nuclear talks. prices, which have been rising all month, traded higher again as the weaker U.S. dollar makes the metal more appealing. Most industrial metals also traded on manufacturing optimism, but there are signs in the U.S. that the pace of expansion is slowing, which is easing concerns about inflation (more below).

Inside the U.S. equity , an interesting dynamic developed as investors shifted from growth to value. The stocks ( , , , , and ), which used to account for more than 25% of the S&P 500's market cap, have been underweighted by big investors since the beginning of 2021, according to Goldman Sachs. They are still among the most widely-held stocks on the planet, but mutual fund managers have been reducing their exposure to them to near record levels. That will weigh heavily on the performance of index funds, which hold large positions in these stocks, going forward.