Does Bernie have investments in fracking?

[Chichiri]

I'm actually asking; I can't read these things very well. (And yes, I know it's okay if Bernie does it, just like everything else.)

https://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/assets.php?cid=N00000528&year=2014

[Kittycat]

1. Does Hillary?

[Human101948]

4. No Hillary has been a cheerleader for fracking, she actually worked for those fracking bucks!

How Hillary Clinton's State Department Sold Fracking to the World

According to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, one of Goldwyn's first acts at the State Department was gathering oil and gas industry executives "to discuss the potential international impact of shale gas." Clinton then sent a cable to US diplomats, asking them to collect information on the potential for fracking in their host countries. These efforts eventually gave rise to the Global Shale Gas Initiative, which aimed to help other nations develop their shale potential. Clinton promised it would do so "in a way that is as environmentally respectful as possible."

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/hillary-clinton-fracking-shale-state-department-chevron

Bernie Sanders Will Ban Fracking. Hillary Clinton ‘Sold Fracking to the World’

Clinton’s brazen acceptance of funding from interests promoting fracking, and all the hazards that result from fracking, speaks volumes. From an environmentalist’s perspective, this is the equivalent of Hillary Clinton’s prison lobbyist donors.

Bernie Sanders never accepted money from corporations involved in fracking, and certainly never accepted money from prison lobbyists. His challenger, on the other hand, is linked to oil and gas contributions that span across the globe. According to Reuters, “the Wall Street Journal reported that the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative have accepted large donations from major energy companies Exxon Mobil and Chevron.” Clinton’s foundations also accepted money from an office of the Canadian government linked to promoting Keystone XL.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/bernie-sanders-will-ban-fracking-_b_9156182.html

[CalvinballPro]

6. Tu quoque fallacy. Whether or not Clinton does has nothing to do with whether or not Bernie does.

If Bernie, the anti-fracking candidate, has his retirement funds invested in fracking, that makes him a very dishonest candidate, and a hypocrite.

And none of that would be Hillary Clinton's fault either.

[karynnj]

8. Given the modest amount of retirement savings he has, I would bet

That like others, he has mutual funds , including both stocks and bonds. The alternative would be to actively manage individual stocks and bonds.

[CalvinballPro]

9. So which excuse are you citing? That he doesn't have a large amount invested in fracking, or that

to manage his funds to avoid investing in fracking is too hard?

I just want a clear handle on which specific excuse is being used to allow Mr Integrity, Mr "I Am Against Fracking", to get away being caught with money invested in an industry he's actively campaigning against. Especially when he makes the argument that money tying a candidate to an issue makes them corrupt in that issue's favor somehow.

[karynnj]

10. I have no idea how he is invested

I do know from the disclosures that he is not investing tens or hundreds of million dollars. What I said was the norm would be that he and Jane have invested in mutual funds like everyone else.

In fact, I suspect the reason getting the tax forms out to media can not be done in an instant, is that he and Jane did them not an accountant.

[HumanityExperiment]

2. Distraction attempt...

Funny, when painted into a corner HRC and her supporters try to 'muddy the water' by trying to smear the opponent

HRC is toast when it comes to fracking and her well documented support of it and receiving big $$ from that industry and special interest groups that are involved in fossil fuels

[JackInGreen]

3. I've been hunting for definitions on the instruments and products listed

and from what I can see it doesn't seem so.
Does Hillary?

[inchhigh]

5. TIAA Cref

Last edited Mon Apr 4, 2016, 10:42 AM - Edit history (1)

Doesn't have a diversified fund that is fossil free. Hard to say about fracking specifically but the small and madcap growth funds would be looking at that market sector. I don't know about VALIC. Among the retirement funds out there they are both considered relatively "socially responsible" but you can't own an index fund that excludes fracking companies if the index itself includes them.

But this kind of question is absurd because of market realities. It's nearly impossible to screen a fund for every concern a person might have and almost impossible for a small investor to be diversified without using funds.

This is like arguing that we all supported the war in Iraq because we all paid taxes and some of those tax dollars were used for the war. Short of being a war tax resistor you just can't avoid it.

He didn't specifically invest in frackers and chose two of the options that were most likely to avoid them.

[Recursion]

7. Those are all highly diversified funds, so it's hard to say, and the answer could change

from one given day to the next. Fossil fuels (and energy in general) is largely avoided by most non-growth funds (along with REITs) because the volatility is too high, so any exposure he has to fracking would be minimal if it exists.

[ibegurpard]

11. almost anyone with a 401K does

Unfortunately

[Whoa_Nelly]

12. No, Bernie does not invest in fracking

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/4/3/1510059/-Charges-Bernie-Invested-in-Fracking-Company-Easily-Proven-Wrong-Critics-Look-at-Wrong-Info

Charges Bernie Invested in Fracking Company Easily Proven Wrong, Critics Look at Wrong Info

<snip>Let’s really look at the facts. It turns out there is more than one Valic Mid-cap fund. The diarist and his “twitter pal” have looked at the wrong fund! (Screenshots never lie, but they should at least be screenshots of the right thing!)

They cite, and show a screenshot related to the Valic Mid-cap Value Fund, which indeed has Diamondback Energy as a holding, amounting to 1.40% of investment by the fund.

But according to a separate picture in the diary, a screenshot from OpenSecrets.org, Bernie invests in the VALIC Mid-Cap Index Fund, which has completely different holdings! According to Valic’s own prospectus, Valic Mid-Cap Index Fund is a financially relatively conservative investment fund “expected to provide investment results closely corresponding to the performance of the S&P MidCap 400® Index. It normally invests at least 80% of assets in stocks that are in the index.”

2.59% of its investments are in the Energy sector, but none involved in fracking, so far as I can tell. As of 4th quarter 2015, Valic’s largest holding in the Index fund is the consumer products company, Jarden Corp. They have .77% of its holdings in Jarden. There’s no indication that Diamondback is part of their holdings in this fund at all.