Where should an investor start with system-level investing? This reading list brings together the resources we most often recommend to boards, trustees and investment teams, organized in three parts: building the case, seeing it in practice, and understanding the fiduciary and governance implications. Each entry includes an estimated reading or listening time.
- Short on time? The three Chief Investment Officer Magazine articles in Part I (15 minutes each) are the quickest entry point.
- In Part II, the University Pension Plan (UPP) and Railpen cases both highlight defined-benefit pension funds that have adopted system-level investing.
- Part III focuses on governance and legal responsibilities. The Maurits Dolmans podcast episode is especially clear on how fiduciary duties support system-level investing.
- Estimated time for the full list: 12–15 hours.
Entries are labelled TIIP publication or External resource to distinguish TIIP’s own work from field-leading voices beyond TIIP. Some, such as chapters of The Handbook of System-level Investing, overlap.
Part I: The Case for System-level Investing
These resources build the conceptual foundation: why traditional portfolio theory is insufficient for long-term investors, what systemic risks are, and how the investing ecosystem can help manage them.
Foundation texts
21st Century Investing: Redirecting Financial Strategies to Drive Systems Change
William Burckart & Steve Lydenberg | Berrett-Koehler, 2021 | Book (~200 pp.) | Suggested: Chapters 1–5 (~3 hours)
The primary text for understanding system-level investing as a practice. Burckart and Lydenberg lay out why investors must engage with systemic risks — climate, inequality, financial fragility — not as ethical choices but as investment necessities, and outline three practical categories of technique: field building, investment enhancement, and opportunity generation.
Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Investing That Matters
Jon Lukomnik & James P. Hawley | Routledge, 2021 | Book (~220 pp.) | Suggested: Chapters 1–2 and 4 (~2 hours)
Makes the theoretical case that Modern Portfolio Theory — the dominant framework since the 1950s — was never designed for the scale at which today’s large asset owners operate, and how systemic (‘beta’) risks have come to dwarf security-selection (‘alpha’) risks for institutions like pension funds.
Articles: accessible entry points (15 min. each)
William Burckart | Chief Investment Officer Magazine, 2024 | Article (~15 min.)
A concise op-ed making the case that conventional risk/return frameworks systematically undercount the risks that matter most to large, diversified, long-term investors. Written for a CIO audience — not academics.
What System-level Investing Is and Why It’s Different from Any Approach You’ve Used Before
William Burckart | Chief Investment Officer Magazine, 2024 | Article (~15 min.)
Explains the key distinction between system-level investing and ESG integration or impact investing, and covers the three core techniques — field building, investment enhancement, and opportunity generation — in practitioner-facing language.
System-level Investing in Practice: From Beliefs to Blueprints
William Burckart | Chief Investment Officer Magazine, 2024 | Article (~15 min.)
The third in a CIO Magazine trilogy, this piece moves from theory to implementation: how an investment team translates system-level investing beliefs into an actionable program, with real examples from institutional investors.
Reports
Genevieve Hayman, PhD & Raymond Ka-Kay Pang, PhD | CFA Institute Research and Policy Center, October 2025 | Report (~80 pp.) | Suggested: Key Takeaways + Sections 1–2 (~1.5 hours)
This report makes the rigorous analytical case that financial markets are not static equilibrium systems but complex, adaptive, and highly interconnected ones — meaning shocks in one area can produce nonlinear, cascading effects across the whole system. It introduces practical tools from complex systems science — agent-based modeling and network theory — that allow investors and risk managers to map contagion paths, stress-test hidden vulnerabilities, and build more resilient portfolios. The report explicitly addresses system-level investing as a natural application of the complex systems lens.
Podcasts
System-level Investing with Bill Burckart
Future of Finance Podcast (podbean) | ~40 min.
An accessible audio introduction to system-level investing, covering the evolution from SRI to ESG to system-level investing, and what distinguishes this approach for large asset owners. Ideal for board members who prefer audio to long-form reading.
When You Own the Whole Market, You Can’t Diversify Away From This
Madison Condon, Associate Professor of Law, Boston University | IEN Future of Finance Podcast | ~52 min.
A rigorous legal and economic argument that, for institutional investors who hold diversified portfolios, climate change is not a values question but a structural portfolio-level exposure. Condon draws on fiduciary law, universal ownership theory, and macroeconomic climate modeling to make the case that action is legally required — not optional. The episode also addresses the Uniform Prudent Investor Act and the duty of impartiality toward future beneficiaries.
From Shareholder Primacy to Management Primacy: What’s at Stake for Capital Markets
Fran Seegull, President, U.S. Impact Investing Alliance | IEN Future of Finance Podcast | ~65 min.
A wide-ranging conversation covering system-level investing as a rigorous, financially-grounded response to systemic risk; the concepts of dynamic and double materiality; and the current regulatory and political environment (anti-ESG legislation, shareholder rights). Seegull situates system-level investing in the broader context of institutional investor responsibilities at a moment of significant market and policy turbulence.
Handbook chapters
Chapter 1: Why, What, Who, Where & How: Introduction to the Handbook of System-level Investing
Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~45 min.
The introductory chapter lays out the full architecture of system-level investing in one place: why MPT’s assumptions no longer fit the risks investors face today, who the key actors are, what system-level investing requires in practice, where it applies across asset classes and investor types, and how to begin. Written by the Handbook’s editors, it functions as both a conceptual map and a practitioner’s orientation.
Chapter 4: A Real Economy Approach to Integrated Investing and Portfolio Management
Dirk Schoenmaker and Willem Schramade | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~45 min.
Schoenmaker and Schramade argue that universal asset owners like pension funds play a crucial capital allocation role in the real economy — and that this role is a two-way street. Their ‘real economy’ framework provides a systematic approach to transition risk analysis, selective portfolio reallocation, and integrated reporting that goes beyond conventional ESG screens.
Chapter 14: Capital Market Assumptions and System-level Investing
Scott Kalb and Paul O’Brien | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~40 min.
Kalb and O’Brien demonstrate how systemic risks — particularly climate change — can be incorporated into the Capital Market Assumptions (CMAs) that asset allocators use to set long-term return and risk expectations. They show that climate-adjusting CMAs is a rigorous, quantitative way to operationalize system-level investing within an existing investment process, without requiring a wholesale redesign.
Part II: System-level Investing in Practice
Case studies and practitioner reports showing how institutional investors implement system-level investing strategies.
Case studies
System-level Investing: Case Studies of Investors Leading the Way
TIIP, April 2024 | Report (~80 pp.) | Suggested: UPP and Wespath cases (~45 min.)
Five detailed case studies of first-mover institutions: CalSTRS, Domini Impact Investments, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, University Pension Plan (UPP), and Wespath Benefits and Investments. Each covers how the institution defined its systemic focus, chose techniques, and built internal buy-in.
HESTA System-level Investing Strategy: Delivering Super with Impact™
TIIP, May 2026 | Case Study (~30 pp.) | ~30 min.
A deep-dive into how HESTA, Australia’s AU$102 billion industry superannuation fund, embedded system-level investing through its ‘Super with Impact’ strategy. Covers the full arc from belief-setting and governance approval to portfolio implementation and member communication.
Systemic Stewardship: The Financially Material Imperative
Railpen, TIIP & Sinclair Capital, December 2025 | Report (~50 pp.) | ~1 hour
Railpen — manager of the £34 billion UK railways pension scheme — partnered with TIIP to document how systems thinking can be embedded into investment stewardship. The report includes a step-by-step roadmap grounded in real implementation experience, including how Railpen secured board and trustee alignment.
System-level Investing in Practice: How Leading Investors Are Tackling Systemic Climate Risk
TIIP & High Meadows Institute, September 2025 | Five Case Studies (~70 pp.) | Suggested: PGGM and Wespath (~40 min.)
Five case studies examining how institutional investors — PGGM, McKnight Foundation, Cambridge Associates, Wespath, and Domini — have embedded system-level investing to address systemic climate risk. Each maps investor actions to the system-level investing techniques framework.
Field-building and collaborative approaches
TIIP, Humanity United & UBS Optimus Foundation, June 2022 | Report (~40 pp.) | ~45 min.
Identifies the actions investors can take to accelerate system-level investing adoption across the investment industry. Situates system-level investing within the broader ecosystem of institutional investor collaboration, field-building organizations, and standard-setting bodies.
NZG Tools Used by System-level Investors
CFA Institute, 2023 | Industry Research Report (~30 pp.) | ~30 min.
Catalogues the specific tools — from engagement and proxy voting to asset allocation and manager selection — that system-level investors use in practice. Based on survey data from asset owners and managers globally.
Systemic Risk and Investor Engagement on Policy with Richard Roberts
Richard Roberts, Inquiry Lead, Volans | IEN Future of Finance Podcast | ~51 min.
Examines how institutional investors engage with the policy drivers that shape systemic risks — arguing that disclosure-focused engagement alone is insufficient and that investors need to engage directly with energy policy, industrial strategy, and regulatory frameworks.
Handbook chapters: how leading institutions got started
Jaap van Dam | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~30 min.
Van Dam, formerly of PGGM — the Dutch pension fund manager for the EUR 270 billion PFZW scheme — gives a practitioner’s account of how PGGM initiated its system-level investing journey: how it built internal conviction, secured board and trustee support, identified the first systemic issues to address, and structured its early program. Written as a guide for institutions at the starting point.
Chapter 3: From Two-Dimensional to Three-Dimensional Investing
Geraldine Leegwater and Colin Tissen | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~30 min.
Leegwater and Tissen describe PGGM’s shift to ‘three-dimensional investing’ — adding sustainability as a third dimension alongside traditional risk and return. The chapter covers how PGGM restructured its investment policy, recalibrated its portfolio management processes, and communicated the change to beneficiaries and stakeholders.
Chapter 7: How to Organize an Investment Department as a System-level Investor
Barbara Zvan, Aaron Bennett and Brian Minns | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~40 min.
Written by the founding leadership of University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP), this chapter describes how UPP — a defined-benefit Canadian pension fund — was built from the ground up with system-level investing integrated into its organizational structure, investment beliefs, governance, and culture. The authors discuss staffing, committee structures, investment policy statements, and how system-level investing considerations are embedded at every level of decision-making.
Jake Barnett and Patrick Peura | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~35 min.
Barnett and Peura draw on experience with the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance — a coalition of institutional investors with over $10 trillion in assets — to explain how collaborative engagement operates as a core system-level investing tool. The chapter covers target-setting, escalation strategies, manager engagement, and the governance of collective action among competing institutions.
Chapter 13: Policy as Table Stakes
Corey Klemmer | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~30 min.
Klemmer — formerly Policy Director at the SEC and Director of Engagement at Domini — argues that engagement with public policy is not optional for system-level investors: it is a prerequisite. The chapter surveys the current regulatory landscape, explains how investors can engage policy processes as a legitimate investment activity, and addresses how to navigate the political complexity of policy engagement.
William Burckart and Jon Lukomnik | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~35 min.
Using CalSTRS — the largest teachers’ pension fund in the US — as the case study, Burckart and Lukomnik examine the communications challenge for system-level investors: how to explain systemic risk management to beneficiaries, legislators, media, and the public in ways that are accurate, accessible, and defensible. The chapter offers frameworks for framing, messaging, and stakeholder engagement.
Part III: Fiduciary Duty, Governance & Getting Started
These resources address the governance and legal questions investors will face in evaluating system-level investing adoption: fiduciary obligations, the regulatory context, goal-setting, measurement, and how peers built alignment.
Fiduciary duty and the legal framework
5 Principles Every Fiduciary Needs for Climate Risk
Maurits Dolmans, Senior Counsel, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | IEN Future of Finance Podcast | ~1 hour
A precise legal and economic argument that existing fiduciary law — without new legislation — already requires institutional investors to address systemic climate risk. Dolmans outlines five concrete principles grounded in the existing duties of purpose, loyalty, and care. He reviews relevant case law in the US, UK, and EU, and specifically discusses Hirji v. CPPIB as a case to watch.
Chapter 16: Applying Fiduciary Duties to System-level Investing
Susan Gary, Keith Johnson & Tiffany Reeves | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~45 min.
A rigorous legal analysis of whether and how fiduciary duty law — in the US, UK, and internationally — permits, requires, or constrains system-level investing. The authors are leading fiduciary duty scholars and a practitioner attorney. Available via the Handbook.
Getting started: governance and implementation
(Re)Calibrating Feedback Loops: Guidance for Asset Owners and Institutional Investors
TIIP, December 2023 | Report (~60 pp.) | Suggested: Parts I, IV, V, VII (~1.5 hours)
A comprehensive guidance document that walks through how investors assess whether their system-level investing programs are actually influencing systems. Includes applied case examples for climate change, income inequality, and racial inequity.
From ESG Integration to Managing Systemic Risks
MMI & TIIP, October 2020 | Report (~30 pp.) | ~30 min.
Designed for investment professionals already practicing ESG integration, this report outlines the conceptual and operational steps required to move to a system-level approach. Addresses the question: ‘We already do ESG — what changes, and what stays the same?’
Assessing System-level Investments
TIIP, April 2020 | Guide (~25 pp.) | ~25 min.
A guide for asset owners on how to assess the performance of their system-level investments. Covers framework design, data sources, and process, filling the gap between system-level investing theory and the practical question of what to report to a board.
Surdna Foundation Endowment Transformation: A Case Study
TIIP, March 2026 | Case Study (~30 pp.) | ~30 min.
Documents how Surdna Foundation transformed its $1.2 billion endowment into a strategic system-level investing instrument. The governance narrative — how the board and investment committee built alignment, redefined investment beliefs, and restructured manager relationships — is the most detailed in the literature.
Additional Handbook chapters: governance and implementation
Chapter 8: Where to Focus: Identifying Systemic Risks and Setting Goals
Steve Lydenberg and Carole Laible | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~35 min.
Drawing on Domini Impact Investments’ real-world experience, Lydenberg and Laible walk through the practical challenge of deciding which systemic risks to prioritize, how to bound them, and how to set measurable goals for investor action. The chapter is candid about the complications and detours encountered, making it one of the most practically grounded in the Handbook.
Chapter 9: Measuring Success: Evaluation and Measurement
Emilie Goodall | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~30 min.
A practitioner-written chapter addressing how to know whether a system-level investing program is working. Goodall outlines frameworks for evaluating progress at three levels: investor-action, collective-behavior, and system-influence. Available via the Handbook.
Chapter 10: Investment Beliefs as a Strategic Compass
Saksham Malhotra | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~30 min.
Written by HESTA — the Australian pension fund whose system-level investing strategy is featured as a case study elsewhere on this list — this chapter explains how HESTA developed and codified its investment beliefs to embed system-level thinking across all investment decisions. The chapter covers the process of belief development, how to test beliefs against practice, and how they function as a governance anchor.
Chapter 12: How to Work with Your Consultant on System-level Issues
Max Messervy | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~30 min.
Messervy provides guidance for asset owners on how to engage investment consultants on system-level investing: what to ask for, how to evaluate consultant capabilities, what to expect in terms of pushback, and how to use consultant relationships to accelerate, not impede adoption. The chapter is written for asset owners, not consultants.
Chapter 17: Data and Information Flow for System-level Investors
Roger Urwin | The Handbook of System-level Investing, edited by Jon Lukomnik and William Burckart | ~35 min.
Urwin — one of the world’s leading investment governance experts — examines the data challenge for system-level investors: how to source, evaluate, and use sustainability data that is often incomplete, inconsistent, and difficult to compare. The chapter covers data types, information flows within an investment organization, and how to build decision-useful intelligence from imperfect inputs.
Additional resources
- TIIP Publications Library: TIIP maintains a growing library of publications, case studies and practitioner resources, including ongoing case studies of institutional investors, issue-specific guides and the Handbook of System-level Investing, on our Research page.
- IEN Future of Finance Podcast: the Intentional Endowments Network’s podcast, hosted by Georges Dyer, features many of the leading voices in system-level investing and sustainable finance. The full catalogue is on IEN Future of Finance.
- System-level Investing Knowledge Lab: a public good facilitated by The Shareholder Commons that curates resources and convenes practitioner roundtables. Many of TIIP’s publications are in its library. Explore it at The Shareholder Commons.