As the world of investing and money management has become dramatically more complicated, an awareness of and desire for positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts has evolved in the public sphere. Tailoring investments to reflect ESG concerns is no longer a minority practice. It is now so mainstream that clients, beneficiaries, funders, and others are not only interested – many are outright seeking or expecting it.
Shareholder engagement is a sure pathway to create beneficial impacts in the ESG arena.
Shareholder engagement is the only aspect of social impact investment that does not require screening, changes to existing money management, asset allocation, or investment methodologies. Instead, our services are an overlay that works with your established modalities and relationships.
We create positive impacts with what you already own.
Investor Voice has been credited with many firsts, and has been responsible for a number of most notable achievements of the shareholder engagement arena.
Our established expertise can help you or your organization to:
- Enhance or achieve a respected status within the SRI arena
- Educate nationally and internationally on issues of concern
- Elevate a discussion into the business press
- Retain the loyalty of existing mission-led clients
- Attract new mission-aligned clients
- Excite funders and donors
- Expand the reach of a grassroots campaign
Benefits vary for each category of client
While the work Investor Voice performs for clients remains consistent across categories, the benefits received client-by-client varies according to what category the client is in.
For managers, advisors and mutual funds, shareholder engagement:
- Does not mandate changes to investment methodology.
- Allows the historic track record on performance to remain intact.
- Improves client relationships & loyalty – clients feel proud of the positive impact their money is having.
- Serves as an “insurance policy” to retain the loyalty of clients who want a positive ESG (environmental, social & governance) impact.
- Creates a competitive advantage in attracting new assets.
- Creates access to fast-growing “green” or socially conscious markets.
- Places one in the forward ranks of the social investment movement.
- Creates opportunities to transform corporate behavior – ending problems rather than just dealing with their effects.
- Enhances the ability to recruit & retain qualified talent.
- Can honor the legacy of a founder’s philanthropic or community intents.
For philanthropically oriented clients, shareholder engagement:
- Positively raises the profile of the organization among donors and grantees, creating compelling stories to share that engender pride and deeper commitment.
- Aligns with the values of leadership, staff, and grantees, and extends mission reach by using corpus in leveraged alignment with grantee goals.
- Allows the 95% corpus to extend the positive impact of the 5% funding requirement – this extends mission reach by using corpus in leveraged alignment with grantee goals.
- Leverages positive impact with money, beyond philanthropy.
- Does not require a change to trusted investment managers.
- Creates opportunities to transform corporate behavior – ending problems rather than just dealing with their effects – behavior which may be the focus of your grantees’ work.
- Enhances the ability to recruit & retain qualified talent.
- Engages a private foundation’s family members cross-generationally (around values and not just money). Family members feel proud having a positive impact.
- In light of changing jurisdictional law, enhances the fulfillment of fiduciary duty.
- Places one in the forward ranks of progressive foundations / endowments who are fully engaged with their assets.
- Can honor the legacy of a founder’s philanthropic or community intent.
For individuals and families, shareholder engagement:
- Does not require a change of trusted investment advisors / approaches.
- Engages family members cross-generationally, around shared values and not just money – family members feel proud of the positive impact their family’s money is having.
- Strengthens family and community relationships.
- Creates a positive impact (with money,) beyond philanthropy.
- Creates a new way to advance the mission of organizations you support.
- Creates opportunities to transform corporate behavior – ending problems rather than just dealing with their effects.
- Places one in the forward ranks of progressive families / foundations who are engaged with their assets.
For public trusts and pension plans, shareholder engagement:
- Is aligned with organizational values.
- Aligns with the values of long-term beneficiaries.
- Does not require a change of trusted investment advisors or methodologies.
- Allows your manager’s historic track records to remain intact.
- Improves good corporate governance in portfolio companies.
- Enhances the ability to recruit & retain qualified talent.
- Creates opportunities to transform corporate behavior – ending problems rather than just dealing with their effects – behavior which may be harming your constituents.
- Creates compelling stories to share with pensioners & beneficiaries – they feel proud of the positive impact their trust or fund is having, and of your effort to protect beneficiary interest.
- In light of changing jurisdictional law, enhances & extends existing efforts to fulfill fiduciary responsibility.
- Places one in the forward ranks of public funds who are fully engaged with the assets under their care.
For non-profit and mission-oriented entities, shareholder engagement:
- Raises your profile and helps attract funders and support, offering project-specific opportunities for fundraising.
- Creates compelling stories to share with donors, members, media, and staff that engender pride, deeper levels of commitment, and press coverage.
- Is aligned with the values and mission of leadership, staff, and donors.
- Extends mission reach by introducing highly effective new tools for existing or new campaigns that allow leveraged impacts.
- Creates opportunities to transform corporate behavior – ending problems rather than just dealing with their effects – behavior which may be the focus of your organization’s efforts.
- Is a clear and tangible illustration of an effort to advance the organizational mission.
- Enhances the ability to recruit & retain qualified talent.
- Places one in the forward ranks of progressive non-profits who are engaged with their assets.
- Can honor and extend the legacy of a founder’s mission intent.
- If you have an endowment, does not mandate changes to investment managers or methodology.