Investing Forward

Zach Knight is the Co-Founder & CEO of Blue Forest. They are a mission-driven, non-profit organization, leveraging financial innovation to create sustainable investment solutions to environmental challenges. He will walk us through how Blue Forest came about, the details of the FRB, and discuss their asset management arm.

Joe Flores is a Managing Director at TortoiseEcofin, a sustainable investment firm that strives to make a positive impact on clients and communities by investing in energy infrastructure, the transition to cleaner energy, and by providing capital for social impact projects focused on education and seniors housing. While the firm has a variety of offerings, this episode is focused on water.

Rehana Nathoo is the Founder & CEO of Spectrum Impact, a boutique consulting firm. Spectrum's custom approach includes Impact Strategy Design, Investment Strategy Design, Internal Stakeholder Training, and Thought Leadership Strategy. Rehana will walk us through her process, how the business has evolved, and what's new on the horizon.

Rene Reyna is the Head of Thematic and Specialty Product Strategy at Invesco US. He has been in the industry for about 18 years, with the majority of that at Invesco, a global asset manager. He will walk us through the case for investing in water, the methodology for one of Invesco's water ETFs, PHO, and some examples of companies in the fund and how they are contributing to a sustainable future.

Jennifer Coombs is the Director of Client Success at Ethos ESG, which offers powerful, personalized ESG data and software for financial advisors, asset managers, institutions, and investors. She has 16 years in the financial services industry, is an Adjunct Professor at CFFP, and the creator of the CSRIC™ designation. She will share about Ethos ESG and how the software is able to meet the needs of impact investors through the solutions they provide.

Josh Hile is the CEO of Citizen Mint, a platform built to connect investors with private market investment opportunities. Their team handpicks and deeply researches each investment on the platform for both positive impact and financial return. Josh has experience sourcing private investments, connecting investors with those investments, and monitoring financial and impact data. He will walk through the solution he has built and the gap he is filling in the marketplace with Citizen Mint.

A conversation with Stina Nilsson, the Director Stewardship Services at Sustainalytics. She has ESG and supply chain expertise and shares how she engages with companies on behalf of investor clients. We focus on one example in particular during this episode - child labor in cocoa.

We're kicking off this season with the former founder of an impact investment, Laura Kimes. Laura shares how she first heard of impact investing and ended up co-founding Greenprint Partners, a project developer of green stormwater infrastructure in at-risk communities. She has since exited the firm and is moving onto new and exciting projects, including building out an ESG program for a PE-backed cleantech company.

Every 10th episode is designed for and hosted by children. In this episode, we talk about living in Japan, different types of currencies, and the exchange rate.

The Jersey shore needed a longer-term solution to address systemic issues, such as a lack of affordable housing, that persisted well after Sandy hit. Ms. Maria Farhat Tanzola was an integral part of the team that created Impact New Jersey, an impact investment that generates market-rate returns while focusing on affordable housing in Sandy-devastated areas. She reflects on this successful partnership and innovative investment strategy 6 years after it was created.

Learn how Morningstar is helping investors make better-informed decisions and invest in ways that are meaningful to them. We also hear from a portfolio manager that is applying a gender lens to her investment process and why the “S” component of ESG is so important. This episode features Dr. Jon Hale from Morningstar and Ms. Diane Sobin from Cary Street Partners.

CNote is a women-led impact investment platform that uses technology to unlock diversified and proven community investments that help to generate economic mobility and financial inclusion. This episode features Danielle Burns from CNote and Sarah Green from North Berkeley Wealth Management.

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) can help you save money in taxes and give more to charity. I spoke with Alex Neckles from ImpactAssets and Lori Choi from Veris Wealth Partners to help explain what these vehicles are and how to use them to activate more dollars to support your impact goals.

Learn about real assets, including farmland investing. We highlight an Organic Farmland REIT that is filling a need by helping finance and transition conventional farmland to organic, which has been proven to make farms more productive, and even more profitable. The Director of Impact of Wetherby Asset Management also joins us to discuss what they are doing with regards to real assets and impact investing.

For as little as $20, you can make your first impact investment. Learn about the Calvert Community Investment Note, its holdings, and how Calvert is working to democratize impact investing.

We interview an organization linking up Philadelphia’s small businesses with local investors to generate a win-win for the community. Learn how they do it and how you can get started with local investing in your area.

Green bonds have exploded in growth, with household names such as Apple and Pepsi entering the market. For investors interested in building a diverse, climate aware portfolio using this relatively new asset class, this episode can help you get started.

ESG investing strategies proved resilient during the covid-19 correction. While we can not put too much weight into short-term performance, this is the first time so many ESG funds have been put to the test and the consensus is - they passed.