Tag: Investment

57. Sustainable Shareholder Advocacy with Leslie Samuelrich, Sam Adams, and Sarah Adams – Part 3

57. Sustainable Shareholder Advocacy with Leslie Samuelrich, Sam Adams, and Sarah Adams – Part 3

For this episode of the four-part ESG for Impact! miniseries, Kimberly invites three difference-makers in sustainable shareholder advocacy to outline their unique focus on ESG investing and mutual funds.

This week, Leslie Samuelrich, the president of Green Century Funds, and Kim explore plastic pollution, recycling, climate change, sustainable supply chains and how Leslie’s campaigns are pushing for change in these areas.

Additionally, Vert Asset Management’s Chief Executive Officer, Sam Adams, and Chief Sustainability Officer, Sarah Adams, join Kim to explain how they work together to drive change with sustainable real estate with companies that are either constructing or maintaining buildings.

Kim, Leslie, Sarah, and Sam discuss:

  • The plastic we consume and waste we create due to improper recycling practices
  • Ways Green Century Funds’ approach to supply chains and the disposable economy 
  • How to make real estate more sustainable
  • Ways the ESG For Impact! conference has contributed to the sustainable and  collaborative investment arena
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Leslie Samuelrich:

Connect with Sam Adams:

Connect with Sarah Adams:

Connect with Kimberly Griego-Kiel

About Leslie Samuelrich:

Leslie leads Green Century Capital Management and focuses on the firm’s investment strategies, business development, and impact investing program. The Green Century Funds have experienced 570% growth under her leadership. Ms. Samuelrich has more than 25 years of experience in ESG investing, corporate engagement, and environmental and public health advocacy. Her comments have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, the New York Times, Responsible Investor, Barron’s, and many other outlets. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF) and the Advisory Board of the Intentional Endowments Network. 

About Sam Adams:

Sam is the CEO of Vert Asset Management.  Sam is an environmentalist and a capitalist passionate about preserving and defending nature and has worked as an investment professional. He has 20 years of experience at Dimensional Fund Advisors, where he learned the power of the markets as an Investment Professional. Sam is passionate about making sustainable investing easier for financial advisors and their clients. He also holds a BA from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an MBA from UC Davis Graduate School of Management. 

About Sarah Adams:

Sarah is the Chief Sustainability Officer and Co-founder at Vert Asset Management. Sarah leads on the engagement processes to define how the company operates, ways to influence the financial services sector, and ways shareholders can be active stewards of capital for ESG and better business practices. She started in financial services at a boutique brokerage firm during the late 90s dot-com boom.  

 

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.

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 43: U.S. Farmers and Ranchers In Action: Creating Sustainable Food and Supply Chains – With Erin Fitzgerald

Episode 43: U.S. Farmers and Ranchers In Action: Creating Sustainable Food and Supply Chains – With Erin Fitzgerald

Farmers are a lot like scientists. In fact, for farmers to be able to cultivate healthy food for people like us, they need to know a lot about the way they’re producing and growing that food. 

How are farmers and ranchers working to bring us healthier meals while also enhancing sustainability efforts in agriculture?

Find out in this episode, as Erin Fitzgerald, the CEO of U.S. Farmers and Ranchers In Action (USFRA), sits down with Kimberly Griego-Kiel to continue the conversation on sustainable agriculture. Erin explains everything you need to know about USFRA and the firm’s role in creating solutions for economic and agricultural sustainability.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • USFRA’s vision and mission
  • How farmers and ranchers can reduce carbon emissions 
  • From cow Fitbits to cover crops: Technological innovations for farms and ranches 
  • Ways agriculture can contribute to America’s overall economic growth 
  • And more!

Tune in today and learn how you, too, can support the sustainable agriculture movement! 

Resources: Horizon Sustainable Financial Services: (505) 982-9661 | info@horizonssfs.com  | Facebook | Erin Fitzgerald | US Farmers and Ranchers in Action  | Film: 30 Harvest | Cow Manager | Episode 42: Investing in Climate-Smart Agriculture – With David Bennell

Episode 42: Investing in Climate-Smart Agriculture – With David Bennell

Episode 42: Investing in Climate-Smart Agriculture – With David Bennell

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) David Bennell focuses on creating high-quality products, services, and programs that deliver real value and set the standard for safety, sustainability, and profitability.

In this episode, join Kimberly Griego-Kiel as she sits down with David to discuss his contribution to the Transformative Investment in Climate-Smart Soil Agriculture report and to highlight what you really need to know about agricultural investment.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • How much private capital is in the United States’ agricultural system 
  • Why technological and financial innovation benefit the agriculture sector 
  • The role of greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural production 
  • Why resilience is so important in an agricultural environment 
  • And more!

Listen in and find out why, at the end of the day, you are always investing in agriculture! 

Resources: Horizon Sustainable Financial Services: (505) 982-9661 | info@horizonssfs.com | Facebook | David Bennell | World Business Council for Sustainable Development |  

Report: Transformative Investment in Climate-Smart Agriculture

Episode 41: An In-Depth Look at Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSR)

Episode 41: An In-Depth Look at Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSR)

You’ve likely heard the term CSR (Corporate Sustainability Reporting) at least once. But do you really know what this type of reporting entails and why it’s so important?

Find out in this episode as Kimberly Griego-Kiel takes you along for an in-depth look at CSR. By outlining its benefits, challenges, solutions, and guidelines, Kim explains CSR’s role within corporations and reveals how it fits into the overall idea of sustainability. 

In this episode, you will learn:

  • The history and purpose of Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSR) 
  • Challenges associated with CSR
  • The role of CSR in a firm’s profit and ESG metrics  
  • Kim’s take on how to achieve good quality CSR 
  • How millennials are shaping the future of sustainability 
  • And more!

Listen in for your crash course on the ins and outs of CSR!

Resources: Horizon Sustainable Financial Services | info@horizons

Episode 40: ESG and Sustainable Investing Predictions for 2021

Episode 40: ESG and Sustainable Investing Predictions for 2021

What can we expect to see from sustainable investing in 2021?

Find out in this episode as Kimberly Griego-Kiel reveals her ESG and sustainable investing predictions for the year! 

Join Kim as she forecasts what might lay ahead based on industry research findings. Plus, she shares the potential benefits ESG investing can bring to the government, citizens, and corporations alike.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • How impact investing has grown since 2018 
  • Why more companies and individuals are choosing sustainable investing 
  • ESG and social investing trends of 2021 
  • Why corporation sustainability reporting could be a new requirement in upcoming years 
  • And more!

Tune in today to learn Kim’s view on 2021’s sustainable investing industry!

Resources:

Horizon Sustainable Financial Services | info@horizonssfs.com  | Facebook505-982-9661 | 2020 US Social Investment Forum Report 

 

Episode 39: A Reflection on the 2020 Markets, Economy, and Unemployment Rates

Episode 39: A Reflection on the 2020 Markets, Economy, and Unemployment Rates

COVID-19 has impacted almost all areas of our lives, including the economy and markets. 

However, now that we’ve entered 2021, we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. 

In this episode, join Kimberly Griego-Kiel and Johann Klaassen as they reflect on the 2020 economy, market, unemployment, and ESG numbers to create a vision for what’s to come in 2021.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • The eye-opening 2020 unemployment rates in some parts of the country
  • Reasons why the stock market is improving 
  • How positive economic performance is related to ESG and social impact investing
  • Why you should be careful about the idea of “getting back to normal”
  • And more!

Listen today to take a look back on 2020 and to prepare for all that’s to come in 2021!

Resources:  Horizon Sustainable Financial Services | info@horizonssfs.com  | Facebook

505-982-9661 | Johann Klaassen 

Episode 38: 15 Tips & Tricks for Saving and Budgeting in 2021

Episode 38: 15 Tips & Tricks for Saving and Budgeting in 2021

Whether we make $10 or $100 an hour, many of us are always looking for ways to better save our money. 

In this episode, Kimberly Griego-Kiel reveals 15 tips and tricks to help you maximize your savings in 2021. Kim shares money-saving strategies to help you work towards your savings goals and highlights ways a monthly budget plan can complement your savings process. 

In this episode, you will learn:

  • About saving for emergency funds, vacations, or debt repayments
  • Bulk buying, gardening, homemade meals, and streaming services as affordable alternatives
  • Benefits of a clean and clear credit score 
  • What to ask yourself when making big purchases 
  • And more!

Join Kim now and discover how you can optimize your spending, saving, and budgeting for 2021!  

Resources: Horizon Sustainable Financial Services: (505) 982-9661 | info@horizonssfs.com  | Facebook

Episode 37 – Meet Horizons’ Newest Team Members: Part 2 — With Alan Gammel & Patricia Hathaway

Episode 37 – Meet Horizons’ Newest Team Members: Part 2 — With Alan Gammel & Patricia Hathaway

Meet Horizons Sustainable Financial Services’ newest team members, Alan Gammel and Patricia Hathaway!

In this episode, get your official introduction to Alan and Patricia and discover why they’ve joined the Horizons family as advisors representing the Pacific Northwest. Plus, get to know more about them and their passions both in and out of the office!  

In this episode, you will learn:

  • How Alan and Patricia got into the impact investing industry 
  • Ways they aim to help Horizons clients meet their financial and investing goals
  • How Alan and Patricia give back to their communities 
  • About Alan and Patricia’s heroes and how they have shaped who they are today 
  • And more!

Tune in now to meet Alan and Patricia!

Resources: Horizon Sustainable Financial Services: (505) 982-9661 | info@horizonssfs.com | Facebook | Alan Gammel: (253) 376-3983 | Patricia Hathaway: (541) 345-4400 | Meet Horizons’ Newest Team Members — With Bryanna Briley & Paul Perret