August Newsletter

System-level investing gains traction around the globe

Dr. Takeshi Kimura, a member of PRI’s Board of Directors and Special Advsior to the Board of Nippon Life Insurance (Japan), wrote an insightful piece for the Institute of Directors. The article “SGDS and Inflation: System-Level Thinking Required of Responsible Investors” highlights the need for system-level thinking.

Excerpt below:

“Addressing the system-level risk of climate change, for example, creates inflationary pressures through internalization of negative externalities. The system-level risk of widening income inequality and declining labour income share, if left unaddressed, will combine with rising inflation to further reduce households’ purchasing power and hence well-being. If this happens, net zero momentum could be lost, and anti-ESG and anti-SDG sentiment could increase and spread globally.

To avoid such a malign outcome, responsible investors need to adopt system-level thinking with a macro-socioeconomic perspective, focusing on the interconnectedness of the financial system, the environment, and the social system.”

Read more here.

The theme for PRI in Person’s 16th Annual conference is “Progressing global action on responsible investment”

TIIP CEO William Burckart will be speaking on a panel on “Addressing systemic risks through stewardship” in Toronto this October for the annual PRI in Person. His remarks will be heavily informed by three of TIIP’s publications, namely:

“System-level Investing: Case Studies of Investors Leading the Way,” which highlights first-mover investment teams that have embraced the practices for system-level investing. More here;
“(Re)Calibrating Feedback Loops” guides institutional investors assessing the influence of system-level investing. More here; and
“Systemic Stewardship: Investing to Address Income Inequality,” xamines and re-defines the notion of stewardship to include the consideration of social and environmental systems alongside financial returns and offers a six-step process for investors to tackle systemic issues. More here.

Systems thinking emerged as a common theme at the 2023 PRI in Person gathering. TIIP CEO William Burckart penned this reflection on the conference for Impact Alpha. To learn more about the 2024 event and register, click here.

The Global Impact Investing Network’s (GIN) Impact Forum to include a session on measuring progress

The GIIN will gather impact investing leaders from around the world for the annual GIIN Impact Forum, which will take place in Amsterdam on October 23-24. Burckart will participate on the panel “Measuring Impact of Investments in Historically Marginalized Communities.” Panelists will explore how IMM can help increase participation in the financial system for people historically excluded from it. Hear how investors have utilized impact measurement and management to expand access to capital markets.

Speakers:

Hetal Sheth Damani, Impact Partner at Trill Impact
William Burckart, CEO at The Investment Integration Project
Brianna Losoya-Evora, Head of Impact Measurement and Management at Sweef Capital
Melissa Bradley, Managing Partner at 1863 Ventures

You can register for the forum here.

SIRI expands the system-level investing graduate course to a full semester

William Burckart and Jon Lukomnik will once again be teaching their system-level investing course at Columbia SIPA this fall. The expanded, full-semester course will cover the fundamentals of system-level investing, including the finance theory behind system-level investing, what it means to manage system-level risks, the rewards and the tools necessary, and how to integrate this new way of thinking into current investing practice. The class will include TA Abha Nirula, as well as guest speakers from across the system-level investing community.

The system-level investing course at Columbia SIPA is part of a strategic partnership between TIIP and the Sustainable Investing Research Initiative (SIRI) to advance the field of system-level investing and foster greater cross-disciplinary scholarship. More here.

Watch this space for details on TIIP’s 4th Annual Symposium on System-level Investing next April

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.

“Outsized Impact” Webinar

TIIP will be co-hosting a webinar on September 13, 2024, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET, focused on how investment can address the systemic risk of LGBTQIA+ inequity.

Co-hosted by the Colorful Capital, the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Out in Finance, StartOut, and The Investment Integration Project (TIIP), this session will introduce investors to a new set of actionable frameworks that detail the ways investors can extend existing portfolio management tools and adopt techniques to drive towards LGBTQIA+ equity in both portfolio and practice. This webinar will build on the report “Outsized Impact,” which explores how LGBTQIA+ inequity is nothing short of a systemic challenge that poses considerable risks to the U.S. economy and financial system.

Speakers will include Megan Kashner and WIlliam Burckart, as well a panel moderated by Cambria Allen Ratzlaff, including Aeisha Mastagni, Jesse Beck, and Traci Keen. Eric Krull and Tarik Perkins will also join.

Please register for the event here.

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 while you still can! 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 still 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

This month’s featured video is Monique’s “BigLittle Talk” from the June 17th GreenFin24 conference.

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 recordin g (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.

June 17 – TIIP’s Melissa Eng spoke at GreenFin 24 onn a panel entitled, “Making Sense of System-level Investing”. Monique was also featured in one of their signature 60-second “Big Little Talks”.

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 S treetWorks 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].

TIIP’s Mid-year Recap