February 2021
By Joe Foster, Portfolio Manager and Strategist
Due to the nature of the business, gold companies have high environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk. While companies do an excellent job managing these risks, historically, they have done a poor job of reporting their ESG activities and accomplishments to the public.
As ESG gains equal time to operations and finance in reports, meetings, and calls with investors, this is rapidly changing. Company websites have entire sections on sustainability, while the quantity and quality of information is improving. We invest in companies that do an excellent job of managing social issues, water, tailings, reclamation, safety and health.
MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index
02/28/2020-02/28/2021
Joe Foster has been Portfolio Manager for the VanEck International Investors Gold Fund since 1998 and the VanEck – Global Gold UCITS Fund since 2012. Mr. Foster, an acknowledged authority on gold, has over 10 years of dedicated experience in geology and mining including as a gold geologist in Nevada. He has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron's, and on Reuters, CNBC and Bloomberg TV. Mr. Foster has also published articles in a number of mining journals, including Mining Engineering and Geological Society of Nevada.
The article above is an opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of MV Index Solutions or its affiliates.