Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. INVESTING & PORTFOLIO STRATEGIES
November 12, 2014 12:00 AM

Taking a more proactive approach to socially responsible investing

Mike Breller, managing director, Beacon Pointe Advisors
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Mike Breller is managing director of Beacon Pointe Advisors' institutional consulting group. He is responsible for business development and providing consulting services to the firm's institutional clientele.

    Your organization has an important mission, one that your team members fight to achieve on a daily basis. From grant writing and event planning, to fundraising and marketing, your organization is doing everything it can to champion its cause. But what about outside of those efforts? Many non-profit organizations have growing endowments and foundation investments pools. These investments can also be impactful to your mission and the work you do. Organizations may proactively support their mission through these investments by giving appropriate consideration to socially responsible investment policies and/or proactively including investments that meet environmental, social and governance criteria.

    Socially responsible investing defined

    Some organizations create a SRI policy to best match their mission. While this may not be a necessary step for many non-profits, doing so can certainly be advantageous for some, such as faith-based and health-care organizations. For example, many health-care organizations are choosing to create policies that strictly avoid alcohol and tobacco-based investments due to their detrimental health consequences. Unfortunately, many publicly traded companies attain revenues from sources that are the exact opposite of the important mission a non-profit foundation is trying to achieve. The purpose of a socially responsible investment policy is to avoid the types of investments that do not fit or directly conflict with your organization's goals.

    Changing with the times

    Rather than creating a policy based on avoidance, an increasingly popular approach to nonprofit investing is to do so with environmental, social and governance criteria in mind. This method differs from the standard SRI policy in that an organization is choosing to proactively invest in “good” companies because they will profit from sustainable, socially approved and transparent business activities in the new world.

    Environmental criteria refer to the fact that as the times change, so do our environmental concerns. Consider this: our changing environment may well change the economic outcomes of mining, oil and utility companies — while this can be debated it is certainly something to consider. Regulatory carbon limits may put pressure on future revenue for these companies. Additionally, universities and others are coming under fire for maintaining allocations to “dirty energy.” At the same time, the outlook for clean energy is improving. While this may not have been the case a decade or so ago, an organization's investment portfolio may be positioned to benefit from this change.

    Governance and Public Perception

    Governance and social issues can ruin a company in today's fast-paced news cycle, especially when social media gets involved. Investing in these companies may tarnish your organization's public image and limit your ability to raise funds. For instance, news comes out that a top university has directly invested in a company that has a record of unfair employment practices. This reflects poorly on the university. Incorporating ESG considerations into your investment process may guard against these reputational and investment related risks.

    Your organization's mission is a valuable asset to your stakeholders, community and beyond — make sure your investments are as well. Not sure of where to start? Work with a professional investment consultant that is experienced in creating socially responsible investment policies and incorporating ESG criteria into the investment decision making process. Perform the necessary due diligence to construct a portfolio of investments that reflect your organization's unique mission.

    Mike Breller is managing director of Beacon Pointe Advisors' institutional consulting group. He is responsible for business development and providing consulting services to the firm's institutional clientele.

    Related Articles
    Doing the homework on fossil-fuel divestment
    Investing in alternatives to fossil fuel stocks
    Steps to deal with emerging risks of stranded assets
    U.S.-domiciled socially responsible investing assets jump 76% in 2 years
    American University nixes fossil-fuel divestment measure, plans search for gree…
    Conference speakers call on more long-term focus for sustainable investing
    Passive strategies fail to get highest ESG ratings in Mercer evaluation system
    Sustainable investing strategy AUM soars 61% in 2 years — report
    Mercer hires senior consultant to lead U.S. responsible investment team
    ESG investing: momentum, barriers and drivers to action
    Calling all institutional investors: Opportunity exists to invest in cleaner en…
    Recommended for You
    More funds testing water on crypto-related assets
    More funds testing water on crypto-related assets
    Money managers eager to make leap to opportunity zone investing
    Money managers eager to make leap to opportunity zone investing
    Index investing: Not as passive as you might think
    Index investing: Not as passive as you might think
    OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas
    Sponsored Content: OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas

    Reader Poll

    May 9, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Are Factors a Thing of the Past?
    Q2 2022 Credit Outlook: Carry On
    Leverage does not equal risk
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    Out of the Shadows: The Revolution in Shadow Accounting
    The pivotal role of fixed income markets in the ESG revolution
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    May 9, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
      • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference