Michael Kramer

After 10 years as a client, Michael joined Natural Investments as its third financial advisor in 2000. He was a Managing Partner of the firm from 2007-2023, at which time he retained the role of Manager while transitioning to Trust Steward of the Natural Investments Purpose Trust, the firm’s owner. In addition to managing portfolios for his clients, Michael oversees the operations of the company, leads the Investment Committee, and represents the firm to industry coalitions, at events, and through podcasts and webinars.

Known within the responsible investing community as a proponent of higher industry standards, Michael coordinates the firm’s proxy voting and shareholder advocacy activities with the companies its investors own. He also engages sustainable and responsible fund managers regarding their investment performance as well as their sustainability standards, the breadth and depth of which are used in the firm’s proprietary, 34-year-old Heart Rating of responsible funds.

For 14 years Michael has served on the Public Policy Committee of the industry trade association, US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment , of which the firm is a longtime member and he is a former vice-chair of its board of directors. Michael regularly engages elected officials and federal agencies to adopt responsible public policies, laws, and regulations; he has met with SEC Commissioners and Congresspeople to reinforce the materiality of environmental, social, and governance issues in affecting investment performance. This commitment is further reflected through his active participation in the Shareholder Rights Group, Freedom Economy, and the Racial Justice Investing Coalition.

Michael is co-author of the firm’s third book, The Resilient Investor: A Plan for Your Life, Not Just Your Money and coined the term “regenerative investing” in the 2008 edition of Worldwatch Institute’s “State of the World”.

While Michael currently lives in California, in the 25 years he lived in Hawai’i, he championed sustainable business and finance through numerous talks, workshops, conferences, columns, and trade shows. He helped pass legislation to establish the Sustainable Business Corporation as a form of business registration, and was a board member of the West Hawai`i Community Kitchen, Sustain Hawai`i, and the Sustainability Association of Hawai`i. In 2005, Michael founded the Kuleana Green Business Program of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce and the West Hawai`i Fatherhood Initiative, and was a Governor-appointed commissioner at the Hawai`i State Commission on Fatherhood. He was a National Service Fellow during the Clinton Administration and has served on numerous commissions and boards over the decades that promote renewable energy, youth leadership, community service, and sustainability.