Builders Vision, a Chicago-based family office managing $4 billion for the Walton family, is transitioning 90% of a $1 billion philanthropic foundation to sustainable mission-related investments.
Builders Vision manages Walton family assets through three branches: direct investing, asset management and philanthropy. The philanthropy arm, the $1 billion Builders Initiative Foundation, supports programs related to food, energy and oceans, according to a news release Monday.
"If we are going to make lasting change happen, we need our mission to show up in everything we do — especially in how we commit our resources. That's why we are investing our endowment in companies, organizations, and strategies that prioritize sustainable and equitable solutions," Lukas Walton, founder and CEO of Builders Vision, said in the release.
"Our hope is to unlock and scale long-term positive change across markets by showing that purpose and profits are not mutually exclusive. We look forward to working with other foundations to help ignite a movement that leads to more and more endowments invested for impact."
Builders Initiative, through the Builders Initiative Foundation, donor advised funds and an impact-driven LLC, invests in and collaborates with non-profits, businesses and others working toward sustainable solutions across four primary impact areas: food and agriculture, climate and energy, oceans and community, the release said. The foundation, donor-advised funds and impact LLC represent $2 billion in collective assets, a spokeswoman said.
Builders Initiative Foundation officials interviewed dozens of peer organizations and worked closely with CIO Noelle Laing and Foundation President Bruce McNamer to decide on the appropriate asset allocation, liquidity profile and impact investing strategy, the release said. Further details on the portfolio were not immediately available.
The endowment's mission-related investments include funds or companies that support strategies such as impact-minded shareholder engagement, thematically aligned stock selection and community-based bonds, while a "growing" private investment portfolio is 100% invested in mission-related themes, including clean energy and sustainability, conservation finance, circular economy, water and waste, the release said.
"We are proud to have successfully transitioned our endowment to mission-related investments, but we know this is only one part of the solutions that are needed to ensure economic and environmental security for the long term," Ms. Laing said in the release.
