Insights - Natural Investments

Investing with Intent – Spring 2026

This quarter’s issue of Investing with Intent examines how values-aligned investing is responding to today’s political, economic, and regulatory shifts—exploring affordable housing for Hawaiian Natives, shareholders filing lawsuits with major corporations in reaction to SEC no-action guidelines, and more. Follow the stories below in our lastest issue. Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae: A Village Without a Place No More by Kulu Maphalala Bringing the Wisdom of the Three Sisters into Financial Services by Diana Yáñez Why a Perpetual Purpose Trust Model Works for Sustainable Investing Firms by Carrie

Natural Investments April 8, 2026

In The News – Spring 2026

Landmark Class-Action Lawsuit over Climate Risk in Retirement Plan ClientEarth filed a class-action lawsuit, the first of its kind, against Cushman & Wakefield on behalf of a former employee for failing to properly protect their 401(k) plan from climate change risks, thus violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. ESG Dive Kensington Corridor Trust demonstrates

Natural Investments April 6, 2026

Market Report – Spring 2026

War has come, and the markets are running scared. Well, sort of. After some initial excitement following the unprovoked U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the U.S. markets began to reel from the realities of this warfare: skyrocketing oil prices and general geopolitical instability. In addition to general war related uncertainty, President Trump’s continual change in stance

Kulu Maphalala April 6, 2026

Securities & Exchange Commission Exterior Seal

Shareholder Advocacy: Fighting Back

The current administration is doing everything in its power to block shareholder accountability measures designed to hold corporations accountable for their policies and practices. Shareholders have lost significant leverage to change company policies and practices from the inside, and an adversarial dynamic between shareholders and the companies they own has developed. Current SEC Chairman Paul

Michael Kramer April 6, 2026

Why a Perpetual Purpose Trust Model Works for Sustainable Investing Firms

This article was first published in the March issue of Green Money Journal Two years ago, Natural Investments became the first financial advisory firm in the United States to convert itself into a perpetual purpose trust. For our firm, this was not just a legal milestone. It was an ethics-driven decision about the future of

Sylvia Panek April 6, 2026

Bringing the Wisdom of the Three Sisters into Financial Services

I learned through Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass, about the Three Sisters: beans, squash, corn, and the magic they create together. Kimmerer explains how each of these serves the other, that the byproducts of one plant nourish the others to create a mutually beneficial environment that makes each plant stronger. A similar type of

Diana Yáñez April 6, 2026

Oweesta Corporation donates to Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae

Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae: A Village Without a Place No More

Many call it paradise, but for the Native people of what was once the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, being “priced out of paradise” is a very real threat. Official numbers put Hawaiʻi’s houseless population at about 6,500, the highest per capita in the country. This number is also likely an undercount, only accounting for those on

Kulu Maphalala April 6, 2026

Investing with Intent – Winter 2026

This quarter’s issue of Investing with Intent examines how values-aligned investing is responding to today’s political, economic, and regulatory shifts—exploring cooperative economic models in Italy and Spain, the growing role of judicial action as shareholder advocacy and the evolving case for socially responsible investing, and what market signals, AI disruption, and tariffs mean for Main Street and Wall Street alike. Download a full PDF copy here: Investing with Intent Winter 2026.

Natural Investments January 5, 2026

Market Report – Winter 2026

Despite every market indicator pointing toward the need for a major market correction, the U.S. stock market continued to rise in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 2.4 percent at the close and 17 percent for the year. For the quarter, large cap stocks rose 2.7 percent, small cap stocks rose 2.2 percent, foreign stocks grew 4.9 percent, and U.S. bonds rose 1.4 percent. As of December, the rate of inflation was about 2.7 percent.

Kulu Maphalala January 5, 2026

What Can We Learn from Cooperative Economies in Italy & Spain?

I recently returned from a delegation to Emilia-Romagna in Italy and the Basque Country in Spain, organized by the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI). CCI’s initiative, called Reimagining Scale, brought together a group of U.S.-based solidarity economy practitioners ranging from academics to organizers to investors. Emilia-Romagna is a region in Italy with a decades-old robust

Tiffany Brown January 2, 2026

Rewriting the Rules: Aligning Profit and Purpose with SRI

For anyone following the financial news cycle, it’s hard to miss the increasingly heated debate around sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing. Detractors—often speaking from an ideological position on the right—argue that SRI promotes progressive values in corporate boardrooms. Supporters counter that these strategies have generally performed in line with traditional portfolios while helping to

Dan Carreno January 2, 2026