I specialize in helping people and organizations earn competitive returns while aligning their investments with their values using socially responsible and impact investing strategies
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ with more than 13 years of experience advising clients.
- Accredited Investment Fiduciary® committed to serving the best interests of investors.
- MBA in Sustainable Business from Bainbridge Graduate Institute (now Presidio Graduate School).
- Treasurer, Whole Foods Co-Op in Duluth, MN.
- Board Member, One Roof Community Housing in Duluth, MN.
Services | Socially responsible and impact investment portfolio management ($1,000,000 minimum investable assets. Financial Planning/Consulting.
Location | Offices in Washington State and Minnesota – serving investors nationwide
Phone | (206) 782-1205
In the beginning…
I started my career in socially-responsible finance in Seattle, Washington under the mentorship of Natural Investments colleague Eric Smith, a true socially responsible investing pioneer serving investors since 1986. We met while I was earning my MBA in Sustainable Business at Bainbridge Graduate (now Presidio Graduate School). Eric was looking for someone to mentor and I was actively looking to transition into a profession aligned with my environmental and social values. Call it fate or synchronicity, since 2008 we’ve been working together helping individuals and organizations earn competitive returns while aligning their investments with their values. I now live in Duluth, MN and we continue to serve socially-conscious investors around the nation.
Professional & Academic Experience
In 2010, I earned a Master of Business Administration in Sustainable Business from Bainbridge Graduate Institute (now Presidio Graduate School). While attending business school I developed an innovative business plan for a sustainable creamery, served as co-chair of the school’s Diversity and Social Justice Committee, completed a one-year project with the city of Corvallis, Oregon implementing a carbon footprint reduction program, and designed a change management plan focused on gender equity within the Entrepreneurship course series.
I hold the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® credential awarded by the Center for Fiduciary Studies. This credential demonstrates my steadfast commitment to serving the best interests of investors.
Local Community Involvement
I’m passionate about helping grow the socially responsible and impact investing movement, particularly through community investing and cooperative business models.
I serve as Treasurer of Whole Foods Co-Op, in Duluth MN, and am a board member of One Roof Community Housing, a non-profit based in Duluth, MN committed to providing housing services and building and sustaining affordable homes and healthy neighborhoods.
My spouse Kelsey, son Revel, and I enjoy getting outdoors in all four seasons whether cross-county skiing, bicycling, gardening or hiking.
Portfolio Management Utilizing Socially Responsible Investing Strategies
My office specializes in utilizing socially responsible investing strategies including:
- Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance factors: Hundreds of key data points are evaluated by our managers and analysts and integrated into the investment decision-making process.
- Community investing: Notes, bonds, or funds that help people regain socio-economic self-empowerment, support fair trade, and micro-lending.
- Shareowner advocacy: Engagement with companies to improve their ESG practices to manage risk, highlight opportunities and possibly improve performance. Strategies include dialogue with company management, shareholder resolutions, and proxy voting.
- Impact Investing: Examples include investments that help convert conventional farmland to organic –repairing soil, sequestering carbon, combating climate change – while guaranteeing a new generation of farmers long-term access to prime farmland creating local, sustainable, healthy jobs. Other examples include private equity funds investing in triple or quadruple bottom-line companies, renewable energy facilities, and loan fund focused on cooperative businesses.
In-depth investment strategies move environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities forward while delivering competitive financial results.
Contact us today to discuss your goals and priorities and get started aligning your investments with your values.
RyanJones-Casey[ a t ]NaturalInvestments[ d o t ]com