Sustainable Impact investing continues to grow. According to Opimas, a management consultancy focused on global capital markets, global assets under management in ESG strategies grew to $40.5 trillion in 2020, doubling in four years and tripling in eight. As assets have flowed in, SRI investing has evolved over the past 40 years. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all businesses that can have an "impact" on global issues such as workers' rights, poverty, hunger, and the climate. Based on numerous requests from clients, we have compiled a portfolio of companies followed by Argus Research that are in position to have this type of "sustainable impact" on the environment, workplace, and community. These firms have exemplary records not only in delivering on the bottom line, but also in improving the environment, contributing to community relations, and showing respect for their employees. We built our portfolio by identifying companies that are BUY-rated by Argus analysts and also score well on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria established by the JUST Capital Foundation. JUST Capital utilizes a combination of polling, data-driven research, and strategic engagement to shift behaviors and activities in corporate America and the financial markets. JUST Capital's mission is to drive measurable corporate change to create a stakeholder-centric, inclusive form of capitalism that reflects the priorities of the American public. JUST ranks the Russell 1000 on these criteria against a scale of 1-100. Here are company highlights from the Argus U.S. ESG Model Portfolio.

Stocks were mixed on Tuesday morning following new manufacturing and construction industry data. The Institute for Supply Management said that its factory activity index rose to 61.2 in May, up slightly from 60.7 in April and above the Reuters consensus forecast of 60.9. However, manufacturing continues to face pressure from labor and raw material shortages. Construction spending data was weaker than expected. The Commerce Department said that U.S. construction spending rose 0.2% in April, down from 1.0% growth in March and below the consensus forecast of 0.5% growth. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P rose 0.2%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%. Crude oil traded near $69 per barrel, while gold fell $4 to $1901 per ounce.

Stocks rose strongly on Monday morning, led by the Technology and Communication Services sectors, as investors awaited personal consumption data later in the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell back to 1.6% while the dollar traded at a nearly 4-month low against other major currencies. The Dow rose 0.7%, the S&P 1.1%, and the Nasdaq 1.5%. Crude oil rose more than 2% to $65 per barrel, while gold rose $8 to $1885 per ounce.

Stocks rebounded on Thursday morning after three days of losses, led by the Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors. The Colonial pipeline resumed operations after last week's cyberattack, and was gradually restoring fuel supply to areas affected by the shutdown. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 473,000 for the week ended May 8, down from a revised 507,000 a week earlier and below the Bloomberg consensus of 490,000. The Dow rose 1.4%, the S&P 1.5%, and the Nasdaq 1.5%. Crude oil fell more than 2% to $65 per barrel, while gold traded near $1820 per ounce.

Often overlooked amid gyrations in the stock market is dividend income, which is an important element of total return. Between 1930 and 2012, dividend income accounted for 42% of total return of the S&P 500, according to Hartford Funds. And that's just the average. In some decades, dividends accounted for more than 50% of total returns and even 100% of returns. More recently, dividends have accounted for 15%-20% of returns. Still, in 2018, dividend payments softened the blow when most market indices declined as the Federal Reserve hiked rates. Not all dividends are created equal, though, and it is important to understand the difference between the two main categories: high-yield stocks and dividend-growth stocks.

Stocks rose on Friday morning, led by the Technology sector, as a disappointing April jobs report diminished concerns that the Fed would cut back on bond purchases. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell sharply to about 1.55% following the report. The Labor Department said that the U.S. added just 266,000 jobs in April, down from 770,000 in March and well below the Reuters consensus forecast of 978,000. The official unemployment rate ticked up to 6.1% from 6.0% in March. The Dow rose 0.5%, the S&P 0.8%, and the Nasdaq 1.3%. Crude oil traded near $65 per barrel, while gold rose $15 to $1831 per ounce.

While the year-to-date winners in 2021 were the big losers in 2020, the winners in 2020 are hanging in there so far in 2021. There is always some degree of reversion to the mean, be that in the stock market, sports, politics, the economy, consumer confidence, etc. Still, one thing that has remained consistently bullish for the overall stock market going back to 2009 is market breadth.

Sustainable Impact Investing is gaining traction with the global investment community. In January 2020, BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, who oversees approximately $9 trillion in assets, announced that his firm would be investing in companies that are making progress on sustainability. He doubled down in his January 2021 letter, calling on company managements to disclose their plans for making their businesses "compatible with a net-zero economy" by 2050. As assets have flowed in over the past 40 years, Sustainable Impact Investing has evolved. The discipline, originally known as Socially Responsible Investing, focused at first on excluding companies that conducted business in South Africa, or participated in industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. But the performance of these initial strategies lagged, and the approach has been modified. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all industries that can have an "impact" on global issues such as the climate, hunger, poverty, disease, shelter, and workers' rights.

Stocks were mixed on Wednesday morning following the first 1Q earnings reports from major banks. JPMorgan Chase posted solid earnings as strong capital markets activity, along with reserve releases, more than offset weakness in its lending business. Wells Fargo also reported much stronger-than-expected results with help from reserve releases. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.2%. Crude oil traded near $63 per barrel, while gold fell $11 to $1736 per ounce.

The 10-year Treasury yield has soared after bottoming in March 2020. Over the past three weeks, T-yields have flattened after getting very overbought on the daily and weekly momentum charts, and also tracing out some daily negative divergences. On the daily, yields look like they might roll over after the huge move since August.