Bell AM exits Facebook exposure
Bell Asset Management has exited its exposure to Facebook as the firm is failing to act on its environmental, social and governance (ESG) failings.
In a webinar, chief investment officer, Ned Bell, said the firm had sold the exposure to the social media giant in its Global Equities fund after having it on its watch list for some time.
The firm had made headlines in recent weeks after a whistleblower, Francis Haugen, highlighted widespread problems at the firm in acting on hate speech, under-resourced safety teams and online disinformation.
It was also coming under ever-growing scrutiny from the US regulator for its competition practices, anti-trust action and privacy legislation and, this week, rebranded its company brand name would be changing to Meta.
Bell said: “It is no secret that Facebook has had ESG issues for some time. From our perspective, it has been on our watch list for the last two years. We got to the point where they are not doing enough and what they are doing is for show rather than substance.
“It’s about looking for progression and their willingness to change and we are not seeing that from Facebook. They are unwilling to take on criticism and improve the outcome.
“I think it will have an impact on its earnings as these issues won’t go away anytime soon.”
Despite the media complaints, shares in Facebook had risen 16% over the past year to 28 October, 2021. However, they were down 8% over one month compared to a rise of 4.5% by the S&P 500.
However, Andrew Macken, chief investment officer at Montaka Global Investments, said he had retained his exposure in the Global Long Only and Global Extension fund as he separated the firm’s societal problems from its business case, which was “drastically compelling”. He also foresaw strong future growth for its e-commerce and virtual reality businesses.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Recommended for you
Outflows from an Australian private markets fund manager have caused FUM at Pacific Current to decline by $1 billion in the last quarter.
Former RIAA chief executive Simon O’Connor has joined the ethical advisory panel at U Ethical Investors.
Financial services leaders are “all cashed up with nowhere to grow” when it comes to M&A activity, according to Deloitte, with 90 per cent saying they have strong balance sheets ready for an acquisition.
As fund managers are urged to diversify their product ranges, they are finding a faster way to do this is via an acquisition of existing firms but experts say it is not without potential culture clashes.
