BlackRock Is Leading A $120 Trillion Investment Boom That Is Upending Wall St.

By Rick Peters

Investing will never be the same again.

The $120 trillion sustainability trend has left no sector untouched, and it is fueling one of the biggest transfers in capital the world has ever seen.

Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager with $7 trillion under management, has already said that its clients are looking to double their ESG investment in the next 5 years.

And that is only the beginning.

Within a year, 77% of institutional investors have said they will stop investing in companies that aren’t considered sustainable.

Climate change is being listed as the single biggest concern for money managers around the globe.

And sustainable assets already account for $17.1 trillion of the global market.

But the real size of this opportunity is much, much bigger.

Investors and banks with more than $120 trillion in assets have agreed to start incorporating ESG elements into their investing strategies.

And the impact of these developments can already be seen in the stock market.

With up to $120 trillion in assets looking for a new home, it is no surprise that sustainable stocks like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)Facedrive (TSX.V:FD, OTCMKTS:FDVRF), and Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) all soared in 2020.

Enphase took advantage of the solar boom as the oil industry took a major hit and multiple governments moved to reduce emissions.

Tesla saw its stock explode as the electric vehicle movements captured the imagination of a new generation.

Facedrive, perhaps the most exciting of all, found itself at the crossroads of multiple different ESG trends just as the biggest investors in the world searched desperately for a sustainable investment.

This Canadian disruptor with a $1.5 billion market cap entered one of the most exciting upcoming sectors of 2020 with its acquisition of Washington, DC-based Steer–a high-end EV subscription service that plans to transform the way we think about car ownership altogether.

It has made it its mission to bring sustainability to parts of the $5-trillion global transportation industry, and at the same time participate with the $9 trillion healthcare industry, the $850-billion airline industry, the $600-billion major league sports industry, and the $26-billion food delivery segment …

When it comes to finding a diversified and sustainable stock in 2021, this ‘people and planet first’ company is drawing a lot of attention.

What Do Institutional Investors Want?

When it comes to big wins for big money in this new segment, investors invariably turn to tech stocks that can have a large scale impact on the environment, sustainability and governance.

PwC highlighted that “public awareness of ESG-related risks has catapulted climate change and sustainability to the top of the global agenda” and now COVID has brought “the real-life impacts of overlooking ESG factors into the spotlight”.

So in 2021, we can expect this new COVID-driven outlook to only pick up momentum.

The CEO of Blackrock famously stated that he believes that ”we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance”.

And with that in mind, companies like Facedrive that look to challenge and replace companies that have failed to react to this transformation could be the big winners.

A good example of this is Uber and Lyft, the two transportation giants that entirely reinvented the taxi industry. Both those companies ignored the growing sustainability trend as their businesses exploded, they created more pollution than they displaced, and in terms of governance, they spent most of their time butting heads with local authorities and their own drivers.

And this is just one example of how Facedrive saw an opportunity to use this $120 trillion transformation to create the ride-hailing service of the future. It became the first company to offer riders a choice of EVs and hybrids, it offset the carbon footprint of its riders, and it aimed to work with local government and riders to ensure communities weren’t destroyed.

But that was only the beginning:

Facedrive’s most exciting move in the transportation space came with its recent acquisition of Steer.

Backed by a subsidy of energy giant Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC), Steer is planning the biggest disruption in the private automobile industry for decades.

Steer offers a seamless, hassle-free technology that gives subscribers access to their own virtual garage of low-emissions vehicles and EVs.

Even more impressively from an investment point of view, for Facedrive (TSX.V:FD, OTCMKTS:FDVRF), the deal includes a $2-million strategic investment by Exelon’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Exelorate Enterprises, LLC.

It’s no surprise then that Facedrive is up 566% year to date – and things may well get better in 2021.

The Sustainability Boom Is Only Just Beginning 

Many were caught by surprise in 2020 when the ESG investment trend sent stocks soaring by triple digits or even more.

But that was only the beginning.

There isn’t an industry out there that won’t be transformed by the tsunami of ESG capital forming in the stock market.

2020 may have been what Fidelity called a “bumper year for sustainable investing”, but now the regulatory and social impact of all that investing is about to be felt.

According to Fidelity, COVID has turned what was a “relatively niche strategy” into “one of the most significant developments on the investment landscape in recent memory”.

There will be plenty of retail investors looking at the stocks that are set for a rebound in 2021, but the real money is probably going to be made with stocks that didn’t need to recover.

The stocks that are ready for the new reality of markets.

Stocks that are flexible, ambitious, and moved early on this new trend.

Stocks like Facedrive (TSX.V:FD, OTCMKTS:FDVRF), where the deal flow is as fast as the trillion-dollar megatrend itself.

Major Moves And Ambitious Acquisitions 

Keeping up with the newsflow coming out of this ambitious company is a challenge in itself.

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In 2020, there seemed to be a new major acquisition every month.

The much hyped Steer acquisition was first reported in September.

In July, Facedrive stormed another space–the rapidly growing food delivery business that is now being defined by merger mania. Facedrive acquired assets of Foodora Canada—until then a subsidiary of global giant Delivery Hero–along with 5,500 restaurant partnerships and hundreds of thousands of active members. Facedrive Foods now operates out of 19 cities in Canada, with an eye on expansion into the US markets in the near future.

In August, it was the star-studded acquisition of Tally Technologies, the high-tech major league sports predicting startup founded by NFL superstar Russel Wilson and funded by Global tech leaders.

That same month, Facedrive launched TraceScan, the COVID tracking app with state-of-the-art COVID contact-tracing and a huge competitive advantage because it includes wearables. It wasn’t long before Air Canada signed up to TraceScan and the Ontario government began trials with it.

Also in the summer, Facedrive launched its own Marketplace, including an exclusive line of clothing co-branded by the company’s partner, Will Smith and his Bel Air Athletics label.

Then it added Amazon and Canadian telecoms giant Telus to Facedrive’s Corporate Partnership Program. Both Amazon and Telus will be getting corporate pricing and services from Facedrive’s carbon-offset rideshare and food delivery platform.

The names in this space are undeniably huge, but nothing is larger than the financial potential of this shift.

When it comes to investing in 2021, ignoring the sustainability trend is an error you simply can’t afford to make.

Other companies betting big on the ESG boom:

Renewable energy providers are some of the top picks for ESG investors, as well, but few have performed as well as Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH). Enphase is a Fremont, California-based company that designs and manufactures software-driven home energy solutions used in solar generation, home energy storage, and web-based monitoring and control.

ENPH reported a large Q2 GAAP loss with GAAP EPS clocking in at -$0.38, a good $0.44 below Wall Street’s consensus. The loss was mainly due to a $59.7M charge related to fair value changes related to convertible notes issued in March 2020. The company reported Q2 revenue of $125.53M (-6.4% Y/Y) after shipping approximately 1.1 million microinverters while also managing to drive channel inventory back to healthy levels with management attributing the revenue contraction to a difficult macro environment due to Covid-19.

Despite the tough first half of 2020, however, Enphase has remained a favorite on Wall Street. Since January of last year, Enphase has seen its share price rise by a massive 472%, and it’s only just getting started. As the renewable push kicks into high gear, and with the United States expected to spend over $1.7 trillion on green energy initiatives over the next decade, Enphase might just emerge as one of the biggest winners.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) is another shining star in the renewable world. NextEra is the world’s leading producer of wind and solar energy, so it’s no surprise that it has received some love from the ‘millennial dollar.’

In 2018, the company was the number one capital investor in green energy infrastructure, and fifth largest capital investor across all sectors. No other company has been more active in reducing carbon emissions. And they’re just getting started. By 2025, the company aims to reduce their own emissions by 67 percent while doubling their electricity production from a 2005 benchmark.

To put this into perspective, if all of America’s utilities were able to achieve NextEra Energy’s projected 2025 emissions rate, absolute CO2 emissions for the power sector would be approximately 75% lower than they were in 2005.

Though its price movement hasn’t been as exciting as Enphase, it has remained on a consistent upward trajectory. In fact, long-term investors who bought in just 5 years ago would be sitting pretty on 300% returns. And the icing on the cake? It pays dividends.

Not even the supermajors in the oil industry can ignore the ESG demand from investors. They’ve been diversifying their portfolios to hedge their bets in the rapidly changing new reality of energy. And no other oil major takes this more seriously than Total (NYSE:TOT). Total has led the charge to go green. It is not only aware of the needs that are not being met by a significant portion of the world’s growing population, it is also hyper-aware of the looming climate crisis if changes are not made.

As such, Total is not only betting big on renewable energy, it is also doing its part in reducing emissions in its day-to-day activities. Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Total noted, “It’s our job to meet growing energy needs while reducing carbon emissions.”

It’s also one of the most conscious companies in the business. Total checks every box in the ESG checklist. It is promoting diversity and safety, making massive changes in its operations to ensure that its business is environmentally sound, and has even committed to going carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner. It’s no surprise that shareholders are loving its forward-thinking approach.

Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has made major progress towards a more sustainable tomorrow. But what makes NVIDIA even more special is that it is tackling the ESG trend on all fronts. In fact, it was ranked as one of the world’s top 100 companies to work for due to its incredible working conditions, hiring practices and professional development programs. In addition to its ranking as one of the world’s top companies to work for, it was also ranked on MIT Tech Review’s 50 Smartest Companies list and the Human Rights Watch’s Corporate Equality Index.

Not only is Nvidia a role model for companies in its social and governance stance, it is also firmly committed to building a greener future, as well. From its push to use renewable energy in its day to day operations to its innovative technological advancements in chipmaking which reduce the amount of energy needed to power devices, Nvidia is checking all boxes for impact investors.

This year, Nvidia has done something that many other companies have struggled to do. Not only has it stayed afloat in one of the most trying years in recent history, it has thrived. Since January 2020, Nvidia’s share price has increased from $293 to $525, representing a noteworthy 80% increase in value.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is another leader in Big Tech’s sustainability push. From the products themselves, to the packages they came in, and even the data centers powering them, Steve Jobs went above and beyond to cut the environmental impact of his company.

After his passing, Tim Cook took these principles to heart, and picked up the torch, transforming all of Apple’s operations into models of a sustainable future. Now, all of Apple’s operations run on 100% renewable energy.

“We proved that 100 percent renewable is 100 percent doable. All our facilities worldwide—including Apple offices, retail stores, and data centers—are now powered entirely by clean energy. But this is just the beginning of how we’re reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. We’re continuing to go further than most companies in measuring our carbon footprint, including manufacturing and product use. And we’re making great progress in those areas too,” CEO Tim Cook explained.

And it’s already having an impact. Not only have they decreased their average product’s energy use by 70 percent. They’ve reduced their total carbon footprint by more than 35 percent in just a few short years. All while securing the title as the World’s Two Trillion Dollar Company.

Canadian companies are jumping on board, as well:

Shopify Inc (TSX:SH) is playing a pivotal role in the e-commerce boom. Not only does it help anyone and everyone who wants to have a try at launching their own business, it gives them the tools and resources to do so. And it’s not without its ethical grounding, either. Shopify is pushing towards sustainability in a major way. It has started its own sustainability fund, which it adds $5 million to each year to help tackle the looming climate crisis.

Polaris Infrastructure (TSX:PIF) Is a Toronto-based renewable energy giant with a global footprint. The company’s biggest projects are in Latin America. It’s Nicaragua geothermal project, for example, is already producing over 77 MW of renewable electricity.  And in Peru, its El Carmen and 8 de Augusto power plants, is set to produce a combined 17MW of electricity in the near future.

Telus Corporation’s (TSE:T) long-standing commitment to putting its customers first fuels every aspect of its business, has had it a definitive leader in Canada. In fact, Telus Health is one of the country’s biggest healthcare IT providers. And it’s done so with sustainability in focus.

Driven by its goal to connect all Canadians for good, it has contributed over $55 in community giving, reduced emissions by 31% and has four consecutive years on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.

Shaw Communications Inc (TSE:SJR.B) is one of Canada’s leading telecom infrastructure and cloud service providers. Its dominance in Canada’s telecom sector means that if any internet-based services want to operate, they’ll likely be utilizing the company’s infrastructure. After all, without telecoms, these TaaS companies would not be able to operate. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing when you consider Shaw’s sustainability goals. In fact, it is one of the biggest customers of Bullfrog Power which sources its electricity from a blend of wind energy and hydropower. It is also building its own portfolio of clean energy investments.

Magna International (TSX:MG) is a great way to gain exposure to the EV – and by extension ESG – market without betting big on one of the new hot automaker stocks tearing up Robinhood right now. The 63 year old Canadian manufacturing giant provides mobility technology for automakers of all types. From GM and Ford to luxury brands like BMW and Tesla, Magna is a master at striking deals. And it’s clear to see why. The company has the experience and reputation that automakers are looking for.

By. Rick Peters

**IMPORTANT! BY READING OUR CONTENT YOU EXPLICITLY AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY**

Forward-Looking Statements

This publication contains forward-looking information which is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements.  Forward looking statements in this publication include that the demand for ride sharing services will grow; that Steer can help change car ownership in favor of subscription services; that Tracescan  could help the travel and tourism industry deal with COVID and will sign new agreements for use of its alert wearables; that new tech deals will be signed by Facedrive and deals signed already will increase company revenues; that Facedrive will be able to expand to the US and globally; that Facedrive’s merchandise business and sports prediction app will prove popular and successful; that Facedrive will be able to fund its capital requirements in the near term and long term; and that Facedrive will be able to carry out its business plans. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information.  Risks that could change or prevent these statements from coming to fruition include that riders are not as attracted to EV rides as expected; that competitors may offer better or cheaper alternatives to the Facedrive businesses; TraceScan may not work as expected in commercial settings and customers may not acquire or use it; changing governmental laws and policies; the company’s ability to obtain and retain necessary licensing in each geographical area in which it operates; the success of the company’s expansion activities and whether markets justify additional expansion; the ability of the company to attract drivers who have electric vehicles and hybrid cars; the ability of Facedrive to attract providers of good and services for merchandise partnerships on terms acceptable to both parties, and on profitable terms for Facedrive; and that the products co-branded by Facedrive may not be as merchantable as expected. The forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

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