@kim_harding tale of two economies

@joe the irony of an AI upsell on this article though 🫠

@jackie @kim_harding

All the money invested in energy hogs like cryptocurrency & AI, such a waste...

... that money could have been invested in an accelerated build out of solar, wind, & renewable energy development.

Never again, could #PrinceBonesaw manipulate elections.
https://theintercept.com/2022/10/11/mbs-saudi-oil-biden-october-surprise-election-interference/

Never again, could Putin fund a war on nations with Illicit oil sales.
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-attacked-russian-oil-depot-protected-by-anti-drone-nets-2026-2

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/20/ft-uncovers-network-of-shell-firms-exporting-90bln-in-sanctioned-russian-oil-a92013

https://www.ft.com/content/4310f010-2b3c-493e-ba0a-26dc6d156b2e
https://archive.ph/fDxa2

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-20/china-snaps-up-distressed-russian-oil-cargoes-shunned-by-india

1/

2/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/21/revealed-oil-sectors-staggering-profits-last-50-years/

The benefits of phasing out fossil fuels...

... national agency, autonomy and sovereignty. An economy freed of the bloodsucking that sees $3 billion a day in profits going to oil oligarchs & petrostate despots.

And perpetual oil wars & gas pump price gouging.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/oil-prices-jump-us-iran-b2923766.html?test_group=lighteradlayout

Koch Network couldn't threaten the EU, buy a Supreme Court or fund fascists.

https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-06-14/the-great-reset-the-far-rights-detailed-plan-to-dismantle-the-eu.html

https://www.desmog.com/2025/03/14/heritage-foundation-project-2025-allies-mcc-ordo-iuris-discuss-dismantling-the-eu-european-union/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/us/politics/koch-network-2024-election-trump.html

https://theintercept.com/2022/06/30/supreme-court-epa-climate-charles-koch/

@kim_harding Self-plagiarizing here, but...

While this looks interesting to different folks for different reasons, it's worth considering that this is likely not motivated because GS thinks that there is a demand among its customers for more responsible and ethical use of computers, environmental concerns, etc. This is purely a risk exposure play.

Composition is private, and I am (surprise surprise) not a GS customer so don't have access. But I'd bet the reason this could be a compelling offering to the market of today is high net-worth customers are concerned about the concentration of a specific theme which is driving a lot of anxiety. It's a defensive option for people who wish to redirect their passive investment to a comparably less risky regime, while still having SP500 companies included, without having to think too much.

What it is probably _not_ going to be is a fund that vets composition candidates for how much they use AI in their operations, their stance on the externalities of datacenters and GPU/HBM shortages, or whether they care about plagiarism, deepfakes, or nazis.

It will likely underperform in the short and long term, but have some downside protection in the event of a severe ai-huffer correction in the mid-term. THAT is just a big guess, do not take my advice in managing your own money. Really, don't. I'm not qualified. Seriously. Fer realz.

@kim_harding is this a recession indicator?

@fireye Quite possibly, when the AI Bubble bursts, it is going to cause a lot of damage, and not necessarily to those mis-sold the concepts that cause the AI bubble to form in the first place... 🤬

@kim_harding
There's already MSCI World ex USA Index...

@kim_harding @fireye Unfortunately after the bubble bursts I have a feeling that Altman, Musk, Bezos, Gates and Google will be fine. It is everyone's pension investments that will suffer. And the "Goldenboy" investors who get to choose the investments for everyone's pension will move to jobs at other companies and be fine also.

@kim_harding It can also be a way for employees/founders/etc to hedge their personal financial risk.

@chrisp @kim_harding @fireye

That depends a bit. Gates and Google, almost certainly.

Altman? Depends on whether he misled investors (at least, in a way that's illegal). If OpenAI IPOs, tanks, and there are any irregularities in the filings, that can lead to prison time. Especially if rich people lost money.

Musk? He's tied together all of his companies and is massively overextended in terms of debt. His big bet is that SpaceX, as a government contractor, will be too big to fail and will be bailed out. If the US government moves slightly away from the oligarchy, the alternative is that it goes bankrupt and becomes nationalised. I don't think letting Musk lose a couple of hundred billion dollars would be particularly unpopular with voters.

@kim_harding given how intertwined the market is, I'm fairly certain that there is not enough independence/diversity for other companies to be insulated from a "AI line goes down biggly" event. IMHO Goldman Sachs is selling (reverse) shovels here.