Stock-Picking Champ Is a Do-Gooder Who Doesn't Overdo Idealism
- Parnassus Endeavor’s Jerome Dodson crushes fund peers and S&P
- Graham and Dodd plus a measure of ESG equals a winning combo
The Perks of Socially Responsible Investing
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Jerome Dodson, a pioneer in socially responsible investing, was feeling the pressure. Investors in his $3.7 billion Parnassus Endeavor Fund were urging him to dump Wells Fargo & Co. last September as the bank’s phony-account scandal sent its shares skidding.
Dodson balked. The company’s portrayal in the media was too harsh, he said, noting its charitable giving and efforts to promote women as branch managers. Ethics aside, it’s hard to argue with the decision: The stock has surged 36 percent from its low at the time, triple the gain of the broad market.