A year of relative economic stability and prosperity, in 2024 Natural Investments maintained a steady growth period. Natural Investments grew 18 percent to $1.7 billion in socially responsible investment (SRI) assets under management between new clients seeking SRI and market value increase. Natural Investments channels capital into investments with intentional and measurable impact, while meeting clients’ financial goals.
Clients come to Natural Investments wanting to “do well by doing good,” meaning they want to invest in ways that build wealth for themselves and others in tandem. Our firm acknowledges that finances can support a multistakeholder environment, like the interrelational dependencies found in nature’s ecosystems. Supporting investments in communities, both geographically and in commercial sectors, builds a cyclical resilience in the economic engine upon which a healthy society depends.
Natural Investments builds community in several ways. The firm avoids investments involved in wealth- and resource-depleting activities; works with managers that incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk factors into investment decision making; and funds social enterprises and infrastructure that contribute to solutions and support our communities.
Approximately three quarters of the firm’s assets under management are in the publicly traded market and are spread across responsibly managed mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and separately managed accounts incorporating ESG strategies. Natural Investments chooses fund and money managers that apply ESG principles to identify and avoid the worst corporate agents and connect with those who utilize shareholder advocacy tools to nurture change. Approximately $674 million of fund asset managers actively practice shareholder engagement via corporate dialogue or by filing ESG resolutions at annual meetings to inspire better corporate policies and practices. For the most harmful sectors to people and the planet, where clients do not want to engage in advocacy, common exclusionary screens include fossil fuel, tobacco, military/defense, and private prison industries.
UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) were created to facilitate the end of poverty, protect the planet, and safeguard prosperity for all. Approximately 90 percent of Natural Investments’ SRI assets, both in the public and private markets, were pegged to at least one of 17 UN SDG goals. The top five categories of those goals our investments targeted include: decent work and economic growth; sustainable cities and communities; climate action; affordable clean energy; and responsible consumption and production.
Most funds, spread across a variety of asset classes and product types, are held in one of five investment vehicles: responsible mutual funds and ETFs; separately managed accounts that utilize ESG strategies; community investment notes; municipal bonds; and sustainable private infrastructure products.
COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS
The firm held approximately $755 million in community investments at the end of 2024. In the public markets, this means investing in geographically targeted municipal bonds and mortgage-backed securities, in which capital flows directly toward community infrastructure for those who need it the most. In the private markets, this means investing in social enterprises, community development financial institutions, and fund managers contributing to economic empowerment, home ownership, and urban and rural revitalization.
Much of this community infrastructure focuses on affordable housing, renewable energy, environmental sustainability, and financial inclusion. The funds are dispersed in a diverse array of community development financial institutions, nonprofits, cooperatives, Certified B Corps, impact venture capital, and real estate investment trusts, among other community-oriented funds.
RACIAL EQUITY & JUSTICE INVESTMENTS
Natural Investments believes that discrimination based on race, or any other aspects of identity, must be named and actively challenged. In line with its commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusionary (JEDI) finance, the firm seeks opportunities to invest in BIPOC-led or owned organizations, as well as organizations whose primary purpose is to advance racial equity. The firm’s private market holdings invested $442 million in either women-led organizations or organizations led by a person of color. This represents 26 percent of Natural Investments’ overall SRI assets under management. Natural Investments is working towards stewarding capital more equitably.
2025 REGENERATIVE INVESTEES
The following private companies and funds contributed impact information for the purposes of this report. We are grateful for their efforts in creating a world where all people can live a life with dignity, health, and economic prosperity.
