Clean Yield Insights
Q1 2020 Market Update: Wrestling with the bear
Whew, what a quarter! As of our last full market commentary in January, the main stock market indexes were near record highs after more than a decade of gains. The conventional wisdom was that even though global manufacturing was in…
Night School: Bond Basics
At Clean Yield, we manage many “balanced” portfolios, which own stocks and bonds. Though stocks usually grab the headlines, bonds also have a critical role as the ballast in many portfolios.
What Is a bond?
A bond is a debt…
Q4 2019 Market Update: Is it different this time?
We enter the new year—and new decade—with more questions than usual. What has happened to democracy and the rule of law in the U.S.? Is the global alliance of liberal democracies kaput? Do truth and evidence still matter? Are historical…
Q3 2019 Market Update: Cracks in the Foundation
We see cracks developing in the foundation of the bull market in stocks. As we know from the bizarre reality of 2019 life in America, most people believe what they want to believe – and make their own “facts” if…
Get in the Loop!
At Clean Yield, we love hearing about new sustainability initiatives at companies in our client portfolios. But it’s even more exciting when we see companies collaborating for something bigger. In this case, Unilever, UPS, and Suez are all involved in…
Night School: Asset Allocation
What Is It?
Asset allocation is the mix of different types of investments in a portfolio. It provides risk reduction through diversification and requires initial and ongoing decisions based on an investor’s goals, circumstances, and changing market conditions. It’s the…
Fall into Charitable Gifting Season
As portfolio managers, we have slightly different seasonal associations than most people. Spring is not just about crocuses and maple syrup; it’s also about getting out tax reports, raising cash for tax payments, and rebalancing portfolios. Summer lends itself to…
Q2 2019 Market Update: Beware of the Exhausted Market
It’s unavoidable to discuss world events without mentioning the occupant of the Oval Office, the autocrat wannabe. He reportedly is obsessed with the stock market as a measure of his success as president. As such, his media manipulation extends to…
Q1 2019 Market Update: Myths Versus Reality
We live in a bizarre time when our president, his favorite news source, and his followers all see only their own reality, one that rejects evidence. Let’s face it, we believe what we want to believe. This also applies to…
Night School: Don't Fight the Fed
After a series of financial panics, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, which created the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the U.S. The Fed was granted the authority to issue Federal Reserve Notes (the U.S.…
Investing from the ground up
For more than a dozen years, Clean Yield has been investing in local food and regenerative agriculture enterprises. Our commitment to agriculture is rooted in our history as a company founded in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, a place with a strong…
Night School: Values-Based vs. Value Investing
We have long practiced values-based investing. This means investing in companies that offer products or services that are socially beneficial, have ethical business practices and a long-term perspective, emphasize diversity in their executive staff and board of directors, treat their…