This quarter’s issue of the Investing with Intent newsletter explores values-driven divestment in a turbulent political climate, the meaning of conviction in impact investing, the challenges of AI and copyright, and rising opportunities in renewable energy and shareholder advocacy.
Two years ago, the SEC approved the Nasdaq’s proposed new rule on board diversity and disclosure that would require all Nasdaq-listed companies to provide data on board members’ gender, race, and self-identification as LGBTQ+. The rule would also require that boards include at least one female and at least one person who self-identifies as an
Unfortunately, when the U.S. House of Representatives selected Mike Johnson, R-La., as its Speaker, they picked someone who has been vehemently opposed to socially responsible investing. In the past six years, he sponsored four bills (that didn’t pass) to curtail it, stating that the Department of Labor is overreaching its authority by allowing retirement plans
This newsletter, “Investing with Intent,” is distributed to clients and friends of Natural Investments, PBLLC (NI). NI is an investment adviser registered with the SEC.
Conservatives are attacking the entire premise of socially responsible investing (SRI) nationwide. While our last newsletter focused on state legislative laws that curb the integration of social and environmental risks into investment decision-making, the larger threat is the House Financial Services Committee (the Committee). In July, the Committee held “anti-ESG” hearings in the Capitol, and
In the past six months, through our affiliation with the FAIRR Initiative, we have engaged a variety of meat processing companies such as Tyson, Armor, Farmer John, Smithfield, and other brands in Australia, Brazil, and China regarding significant labor issues at their facilities and overall operations in the areas of worker voice, working conditions, grievance
The stock and bond markets ended lower during the third quarter. Broadly measured, large U.S. company stocks declined 2.1%, small company stocks lost 4.8%, and foreignstocks were down 3.3%. Bonds lost ground ending down 2.9%. The principal factor weighing on the markets off-and-on over the last year-and-a-half has been the interest rate hike cycle orchestrated
In May 2018, when President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy took effect, prison divestment and advocacy efforts received an explosion of public interest. Since then, the headlines have faded, but our Heart Rating continues to hold fund managers accountable. Natural Investments’ Heart Rating, which has been a fixture of our firm since 1992, is an
As a firm, Natural Investments has long provided portfolio management and financial planning services to institutional clients across the country. By the end of December 2022, there were 27 nonprofit and foundation clients with about $90 million in assets under management firmwide. In this article, we want to share a case study about a nonprofit
Hawai‘i Investment Ready (HIR) assists social entrepreneurs in Hawai‘i by growing their impact and helping them gain access to capital. Founded in 2013 by long-time local entrepreneurs Lisa Kleissner and Neil Hannahs, HIR is the first Native-led accelerator program in Hawai‘i. In 2019, the leadership of HIR passed to Keoni Lee, a Native Hawaiian social
Among 33 million small businesses in the U.S., only an estimated 1,000 are worker cooperatives. But the trend is increasing for employee-owned enterprises. Slow Bloom Coffee Cooperative in Southern California offers one example of workers unifying to create a model that allows more co-owners to join.
Photo credit: Gabe Perez