Saturna’s CIO Shares Insights on Corporate Diversity with MarketWatch Columnist
March 22, 2021 – MarketWatch columnist Michael Brush extensively quotes Saturna Capital’s chief investment officer Scott Klimo, CFA® in an opinion piece titled “Corporate diversity gives you an edge in stock investing — these six companies fit the bill.”
In his conversations with several portfolio managers, Brush explores the conclusions of a new study that suggests corporate diversity – racial, ethnic, and gender – is associated with a boost to key performance indicators. “I talked to some of the best-of-the-best thinkers in ESG,” said Brush.
Klimo focuses on how diversity helps corporations make better business decisions than their less diverse peers. “When everybody is the same and thinking the same way, they consider fewer exogenous events,” Klimo said.
Saturna’s own research finds a beneficial link between board diversity, for example, and overall company performance. Klimo cites the cosmetics industry as a clear example of where gender diversity on corporate boards can translate into outperformance.
Saturna tracks the relationship between companies’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores and business performance using their proprietary ESG security rating system.
Scott Klimo, CFA® is portfolio manager of Amana Growth and Sextant Growth Funds, and deputy portfolio manager of Amana Income, Amana Developing World, and Saturna Sustainable Funds.