TIIP’s Mid-year Recap

Building Momentum for Global Investor Education on System-level Investing

Building on the successful launch of our inaugural SAIL cohort last year, and the momentum from our annual symposiums on system-level investing, TIIP has held five investor training programs thus far in 2024 to support the learning of over 100 investors.

We held two 1-day virtual intensive trainings to accommodate Western Hemisphere-based investors and three Asia-based trainings as follows:

• March 12: Zoom-based training with participants recruited through IEN, ICCR and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
• June 17: Zoom-based training for Japan-based investors in partnership with the Japan Impact Driven Finance Initiative and PRI.
• June 18: In-person 1-day training in Melbourne, Australia, in partnership with University of Melbourne.
• June 20: In-person training in Melbourne, Australia, in partnership with Impact Investing Australia and PRI.
• July 11: Zoom-based training with participants recruited through IEN, ICCR, Racial Justice Investing, Impact Capital Managers, Women Investing in the Sustainable Economy, and PRI.

If you’re interested in joining the waiting list for future trainings, reach out at [email protected]. Or, send us a note if you’d like to explore a partnership with an investor network you are a member of or otherwise lead.

Partnership Opportunities for the Next Annual Symposium (and Recap of the 2024 Iteration)

TIIP’s 3rd Annual Symposium on System-level Investing on “Aligning Investor Policies, Programs and Practices to the System-level” took place on April 10, 2024 in New York, with the support of our cohosts, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and sponsors, Domini Impact Investments, Orrick, and the High Meadows Institute.

The room was filled to capacity, and another +250 registered to attend via Zoom. Attendees joined from all over the world, including Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The speakers featured notable industry experts as follows:

As with all of TIIP’s work, in this gathering was designed to inspire while offering practical guidance on practice change as attendees learned the fundamentals of system-level investing, including:

• why investors should care,
• what it means to manage systemic risks and rewards,
• why it is imperative to do so now, and
• how to integrate this new way of thinking into current investing policies and practices

Select attendee and speaker feedback:

• “I feel so energized, so many new ideas for collaboration and ways to move the field forward.”
• “TIIP’s work resonates!”
• “This was the most amazing conference! I’ll never miss another TIIP event again. I promise you that.”

Want to sponsor next year’s symposium? Reach out to Monique Aiken at [email protected] to explore.

Want to be added to the waitlist to attend the 2025 Symposium, which will also be TIIP’s 10 Year Anniversary? Fill out the form below to get on the list and be the first to know the details as they emerge.

SAIL Updates

Our annual SAIL update is underway! We’re refreshing the content in the “issue agnostic” and income inequality tools and resources, and adding new ones related to climate change, racial inequity and LGBTQIA+ inequity.

Subscription rates will increase once the new content is in, so subscribe now at our summer promotional rate! Email us at [email protected] to learn more.

For those who are not yet familiar SAIL (the Systems Aware Investing Launchpad), it is more than just another enterprise management platform. It’s a comprehensive solution that equips investors with practical tools, templates, guidance, and deep research on systemic issues. With SAIL, you can implement or refine your system-level investment strategies, all with the goals of reducing costs, winning business, preserving long-term returns, and staying informed. It’s a game-changer for investors.

Ask us how to subscribe at our summer promotional rate!

Want access to the just to CoPractice (which will always remain free) or receive a live demonstration? Contact TIIP at [email protected].

TIIP + Friends About Town

Year to date highlights:

• July 23: TIIP’s Managing Director, Monique Aiken, brought the system-level investing angle to a Private Equity focused panel at JFF’s Horizons conference entitled “How Impact Investors Can Drive Quality Jobs by Investing in People”. Her fellow panelists included Todd Leverette, Managing Partner at Apis & Heritage and Marcus Felder, Vice President in Portfolio Operations at Blackstone and the discussion was moderated by Dr. Ellen Frank-Miller, Founder and CEO of Workforce & Organizational Research Center.

• June 27: William coauthored an article with TIIP’s IMM Specialist Melissa Eng for Chief Investment Officer on managing systemic risks. You can read it here.

• June 26: William joined a roundtable hosted by The White House on the LGBTQ+ venture capital ecosystem. Read Bill’s reflections on the discussion in an op-ed in ImpactAlpha here.

• June 25: William was featured in an article in Barron’s on “Finding LGBTQ-Focused Investments Can Be Difficult.” Read more here.

• June 25: TIIP CEO and Colorful Capital co-founder William Burckart and Colorful Capital’s DEI and Impact Management Lead Lloyd He collaborated on a new piece on the “Investors’ role addressing intergenerational risk of LGBTQIA+ inequity” for Pensions & Investments. You can read the article here.

• June 23: In partnership with the Japan Impact Driven Financing Initiative (IDFI), William joined Dr. Takeshi Kimura (Board Member of PRI and special advisor to IDFI), Katsuji Imata, and Yuka Ogasawara (both of the IDFI) for a workshop on the why, what, and how of implementing system-level investing. Watch the recording (partially recorded in Japanese).

• June 20: William was highlighted in an Inc. article on “20 LGBTQ Business Leaders on the Importance of Visibility” here.

• June 20: William delivered a series of workshops on system-level investing for institutional investors in Australia. The workshops were co-hosted by the Principles for Responsible Investment, Impact Investing Australia, and the University of Melbourne in Australia.

• May 9: TIIP CEO William Burckart was on the west coast connecting with folks around the MIE and Miliken conferences and the WELL Summit. William and Jon Lukomnik of Sinclair Capital also wrapped up their third semester of teaching their course on system-level investing with the Sustainable Investing Research Initiative (SIRI), at Columbia SIPA.

• April 23: Andrea Longton published the book The Social Justice Investor: Advance Your Values While Building Wealth, Whether a Few Dollars or Millions, which provides personal finance guidance for both consumers and investors. The author weaves inspiring vignettes throughout the book, including a piece from Monique Aiken on how the name of her nonprofit collective, Make Justice Normal, came to be.

• April 19: TIIP’s Managing Director, Monique Aiken, was interviewed by Social For Good, to kick off their new Social Impact Heroes series. Read the profile here.

• March 21: William Burckart, visited Sydney to speak at the Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific.
• February 6: William Burckart joined Alan Hsu (Portfolio Manager, Wellington) and David Loehwing (Head of Sustainability and Stewardship, North America, Impax Asset Management) for the Wespath Investment Forum for a panel entitled “The Rise of Systemic Risk and the Impact of Sustainable Investment Strategies”. The session, moderated by Jake Barnett, focused on how institutional investors are working together to address systemic risk in their portfolios through innovative sustainable investment strategies.
• February 1: William Burckart joined Otho Kerr of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Marisa Hodgdon of Ember Ignite and Sidelines, and Fabrice C Houdart of the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors and Fabrice Houdart Consulting for a panel on Inclusive Capital, with an emphasis on advancing LGBTQIA+ progress. The session was moderated by Caroline Flammer (the director of Sustainable Investing Research Initiative (SIRI) at Columbia University). A big thank you to all the students and attendees, fellow panelists, the co-sponsors Out in Finance and SUMA Equity Alliance for their support and for fostering greater inclusiveness, and to the student club Columbia Impact Investing Initiative for co-hosting this event last week. Stay tuned to SIRI and Colorful Capital for more.
• January 31: Monique Aiken, William Burckart, and Melissa Eng gave the closing keynote on “Systems-Level Thinking for Systems-Level Resilience” at the Impact Investing Institute hosted by the Minnesota Council on Foundations. The talk highlighted TIIP’s latest report on (Re)Calibrating Feedback Loops. An essential component of the framework is ensuring that an investor’s policies, programs, and practices are aligned with their overarching system-level goals—do all actions work in the direction of a healthier and more resilient system? Download the report here. A big thank you to Susan Hammel, Susie Brown, Paul Masiarchin and the team at the Council for their leadership.

Here’s where you can catch the TIIP team in the months ahead:

• September 22: Monique and the Make Justice Normal collective are organizing their inaugural StreetWorks Earth, a “streetfair for good” in Jackson Heights, Queens on September 22nd during NY Climate Week. StreetWorks Earth 2024 is supported by Environmental Defense Fund and the Frontline Resource Institute. This family-friendly event will use social practice, interactive art to inspire climate action. Meet the artists here!

• October 8-10: William will be speaking at the PRI in Person 2024 in Toronto on the panel on “Addressing systemic risks through stewardship.” Register here.

• October 23-24: William will be speaking at the GIIN Impact Forum in Amsterdam on the panel on “Impact Measurement and Management for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.” Register here.

Have questions about system-level investing? Email us at [email protected].