Category: Uncategorized

55. How we can Create a New Economy With Rex Raimond — Part 1

55. How we can Create a New Economy With Rex Raimond — Part 1

In October 2021, Kimberly Griego-Kiel took part in the ESG For Impact! conference in Colorado Springs. 

During this two-day conference, Kim attended sessions focused on SRI investments, strategies, and concepts while connecting with like-minded professionals and industry leaders. 

One of those leaders was Rex Raimond, the director of The Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS) Initiative.

In the first part of the ESG for Impact! miniseries, Rex joins Kim to explain everything around investing in global food systems. They explore how food growth can impact our health and the environment and outline ways we can get into a new sustainable economy.

Kim and Rex discuss:

  • How food systems fit within the ESG arena
  • The destructiveness of the agricultural system
  • The financial component of growing food system operations
  • Consequences of not managing our land properly
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Rex Raimond

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel

About Rex Raimond: 

Rex Raimond has more than 20 years of experience developing strategies and building effective partnerships for sustainable and equitable food systems. He applies his partnership-building skills to help build a movement among concessional, impact, and commercial investors, companies, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to increase investment in principles-aligned food system businesses that are economically viable and deliver sustainable impact. Rex has worked on many aspects of food and agricultural systems transformation, including sustainable finance, crop insurance, and agricultural policy, market incentives for soil health practices, sustainable supply chains, food safety, science and emerging technologies, sustainable landscape planning, and climate change. 

 

54. 2021 Year-End Planning With Kimberly Griego-Kiel and Johann Klaassen

54. 2021 Year-End Planning With Kimberly Griego-Kiel and Johann Klaassen

Yes, it’s that time of the year already. It’s time to think about year-end planning! 

To kick-start your year-end planning, join Kimberly Griego-Kiel and Johann Klaassen for this information-packed episode as they discuss why a yearly plan is so important for your finances. With rules constantly changing, find out the benefits of having review sessions with your financial advisor to ensure you are not being penalized. 

Plus, discover why early retirement planning is your ticket to becoming financially free in the future!

Kimberly and Johann discuss:

  • How to make the most out of your retirement account
  • Efficient ways to save on taxes
  • The two certain things in life
  • Reasons to have a will in place
  • And more!

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel and Johann Klaassen:

About Johann Klaassen:

As Horizons Sustainable Financial Services’ Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Johann supports investors who focus their efforts on environmental, social, and corporate governance issues. He also helps clients vote with their dollars for a positive transformation of our economy and society toward a socially just and environmentally sustainable world. 

53. Fishy Fish: What You Should Really Know About Sustainable Seafood

53. Fishy Fish: What You Should Really Know About Sustainable Seafood

Regardless of whether you enjoy seafood, the truth is, it’s important to be informed about seafood’s sustainable and unsustainable components.

That’s exactly what Kim Griego-Kiel is here to help you learn in this week’s episode.

Join in as Kim reveals how understanding seafood sustainability can help you make conscious decisions as a consumer. Plus, learn how you, too, can mitigate the harm caused to the environment when these marine creatures are extracted from their natural habitat.

Kim discusses:

  • The definition of sustainably harvested seafood 
  • The role of regulatory agencies within the industry 
  • What bycatch is and why it should be eliminated
  • Ways to find labels and certifications for sustainable seafood
  • Easy ways to support sustainable seafood
  • Consequences of fishes being in the wrong habitat
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel:

 

52. Investing for Climate Risk and Gender Equality With Pooja Khosla

52. Investing for Climate Risk and Gender Equality With Pooja Khosla

Many of us want to be informed investors, putting our money towards companies and causes that will positively impact our earth and societies.

But finding the information we need to make these decisions can be a challenging task.

That’s why companies like Entelligent are working to give investors the data they need to invest according to their values.

In this episode, econometrician and Entelligent’s executive vice president for client & product development, Pooja Khosla, joins Kimberly Griego-Kiel to discuss just how the company helps investors engage in impact investing. She talks about investment solutions that are climate-aligned and explains how her investment tools translate the projections from climate change models into simple rankings, which can be used to build climate-resilient portfolios.

Pooja discusses:

  • What an econometrician is
  • How Entelligent helps investors engage in ESG investing
  • Sustainable impact investing
  • How climate change and inequality are linked
  • Gender equality in financial services and how the pandemic has empowered women
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Pooja Khosla:

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel:

About our Guest:

Pooja Khosla Ph.D. is Vice President of Client Development at Entelligent. Dr. Khosla is an economist, econometrician, and mathematician who has deep knowledge to build investing solutions. She has extensive experience in predictive modeling, microfinance, and designing impact investment tools and has been working on impact solutions since 2003, both nationally and internationally. 

51. What’s Risk Got to Do With It? With Johann Klaassen

51. What’s Risk Got to Do With It? With Johann Klaassen

Fear is a double-edged sword:

It can hold you back from doing something you should do and can also make you do something you normally wouldn’t do — especially when it comes to your investments.

In this week’s episode, Kimberly Griego-Kiel and Johann Klaassen discuss the different risks that involve the investment arena. Drawing from client and prospect concerns, Kim and Johann address must-know considerations around risks so that you, too, can learn how to make better financial decisions. 

Johann discusses:

  • Reasons why you should report on your ESG criteria
  • How much risk should you take with your portfolio
  • Risk perception: How do you understand and measure risk 
  • The types of risks involved in the markets
  • And more

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel and Johann Klaassen:

About Johann Klaassen:

As Horizons Sustainable Financial Services’ Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Johann supports investors who focus their efforts on environmental, social, and corporate governance issues. He also helps clients vote with their dollars for a positive transformation of our economy and society toward a socially just and environmentally sustainable world. 

50. Gender Equality as Part of a Sustainable Planet with Alyssa Wright

50. Gender Equality as Part of a Sustainable Planet with Alyssa Wright

Deep Impact Investing has reached its first big milestone — 50 episodes! 

And because milestone episodes deserve milestone guests, this week, Kimberly Griego-Kiel welcomes award-winning artist, social impact strategist, philanthropic advisor, and the Creative Action Institute’s board chair, Alyssa Wright.

In this episode, Kim and Alyssa not only reveal their new partnership but also discuss everything around gender equality and the ways we can contribute towards a more sustainable planet that cares about treating women and children fairly. 

Alyssa discusses:

  • The Creative Action Institute’s approach towards sustainable impact investing – and ways it resonates with HSFS’ vision 
  • Women and gender equality as something that affects everyone’s lives 
  • Elevating female leadership through the organization’s East African Girls’ Leadership Summit and Mentor Program (EAGLS) 
  • The role of the UN principles of investment when it comes to planet sustainability and gender equality 
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Alyssa Wright:

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel:

About our Guest:

Alyssa Wright is an award-winning artist, social impact strategist, philanthropic advisor, development coach, and writer. Having spent time as a human rights activist in Eastern Europe and Africa, Alyssa brings a decade of experience in international philanthropy to Alyssa F. Wright Consulting. As an accomplished consultant and coach, she builds new revenue streams, shifts cultural perspectives, and inspires people to believe that change is possible no matter what.

49. Investments That Positively Impact Society and the Environment With Alyssa Greenspan, CFA, and David Sand

49. Investments That Positively Impact Society and the Environment With Alyssa Greenspan, CFA, and David Sand

Many investors who want to make a positive impact with their dollars find it difficult to identify investment opportunities that will help them accomplish this.

That’s where ESG investment companies like Community Capital Management can help.

Managing over $3 billion in assets and fully aligned with the UN sustainable development goals, Community Capital Management works to help clients develop investment strategies that contribute to positive environmental and social outcomes.

This week, CCM’s Alyssa Greenspan and David Sand join Kimberly Griego-Kiel to discuss the company’s client investing and reporting approach.

Alyssa and David discuss:

  • CCM’s annual impact report
  • How the firm’s work culture reflects their overall investment process 
  • CCM’s areas of investments 
  • How to use mortgage-backed securities to help communities in need
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Alyssa Greenspan and David Sand:

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel:

About Alyssa Greenspan, CFA:

As Community Capital Management’s president and chief operating officer, Alyssa is responsible for strategic planning, human resources, and new product development. Alyssa is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities and operations of the firm. She also oversees risk management, including portfolio compliance and client service.

About David Sand:

As Community Capital Management’s chief impact strategist, David is responsible for furthering the scope of CCM’s impact analysis including metrics, outcomes, and reporting. As the firm’s subject matter expert on impact and ESG investing, he is involved in client relations and creating new impact and ESG investing strategies to meet the needs of existing and future clients.

48. Let’s Deconstruct Your Money Messages

48. Let’s Deconstruct Your Money Messages

While money is certainly used to acquire goods and services, it is also often linked to the ways people feel, think, and behave.

That’s why Kimberly Griego-Kiel likes to consider money not only for its value, but also for the messages and meaning it can hold.

In this episode, Kimberly takes a deep dive into what money messages mean, why they are so meaningful, and how we can shift those money messages to create a new economic model.

Kim discusses:

  • Her experience with money messages throughout her life
  • A view of money messages from a psychology point of view
  • Reasons why couples, parents, and children should have money-related conversations 
  • The role our perspective play when judging good and bad money messages 
  • How to change the narrative around ESG money messages 
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel:

47. How Harnessing the Power of Information Can Amplify Your Values-Based Investing With Ivka Kalus

47. How Harnessing the Power of Information Can Amplify Your Values-Based Investing With Ivka Kalus

There is great power that comes with knowledge and information.

What can we accomplish if we as investors make use of data and knowledge to drive our impact investing?

In this episode, learn how Promethos Capital, an employee- and majority women-owned institutional investment boutique is doing just this. The firm’s chief investment officer and managing partner, Ivka Kalus, joins Kimberly Griego-Kiel to discuss the gender gap in the investment industry while explaining her firm’s experience and trajectory in value-based (ESG/SRI) equity investing.

Ivka discusses:

  • Ivka’s journey to being ranked as the #3 female portfolio manager in the United States
  • The financial and non-financial metrics of the sustainable investing world 
  • Ways to draw women into the investment arena
  • “Greenwashing” as a necessary step to improve the future of sustainability 
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Ivka Kalus:

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel:

About Our Guest:

Ivka Kalus is the chief investment officer and managing partner at Promethos Capital, a majority-women-owned global asset management boutique based in Boston. She is an accomplished investor with over two decades’ experience in managing global and international equity portfolios, with significant expertise in sustainable and gender-lens investing. Before co-founding Promethos, Ivka was the lead portfolio manager of International Strategies at Boston Advisors and a senior portfolio manager at Pax World Management.

Episode 46: A Deep Dive into the US SIF Trends Report – With Farzana Hoque

Episode 46: A Deep Dive into the US SIF Trends Report – With Farzana Hoque

What are the latest trends in sustainable investing?

Get ready to find out in this data-packed episode!

Join Kimberly Griego-Kiel and the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment’s acting director of research, Farzana Hoque, as they sit down to shed some light on the US SIF Trends Report. This is a document that provides extensive data on the number of institutional asset owners, money management firms, and investment vehicles that are using sustainable investment strategies. 

You will learn:

  • What the US SIF Trends Report measures and why it’s so important for the sustainable and impact investing industry 
  • A trend comparison between the 1995 and 2020 report 
  • The reason for the exponential asset growth between 2018 and 2020
  • Who puts the document together and the stages of developing the Trends Report
  • And more!

Listen in today to explore the importance of the US SIF reports for current and future sustainable investing industry practitioners!

Resources:  Episode 43 | Episode 44 | Horizons Sustainable Financial Services: 505-982-9661 | info@horizonssfs.com | Facebook  | Kimberly Griego-Kiel | Farzana Hoque | The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF) | US SIF 2020 Trends Report | Croatan Forum