Last week we had the great privilege of joining American Rivers and OARs to raft the Tuolumne River through the foothills of California. In addition to being an asset manager, Kristin Hull serves on the board of American Rivers, a national non-profit organization combining advocacy with field work in key river basins to protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers to bring back wildlife habitat, and conserve clean water for people and the environment. Kristin is proud to be a part of this group of practical problem solvers, working with both governments and local communities, with positions informed by science and by indigenous tribes.
As a solutions focused impact investing firm, we at Nia are well steeped in the most pressing issues facing our natural ecosystems and keep up to date with the most current environmental research. Partnering with and spending time with experts is one way we stay current on ecosystem research, field work, policies, and local efforts. Getting our policy and research briefings while river rafting might just be my favorite summer time event.
“Pointing positive,” is well known river practice, a term and concept kayakers and river rafters know well. Because verbal communication over loud white waters can be challenging, paddlers use various hand signals to communicate with each other. Rather than pointing at obstacles to avoid, while on the river, we point toward the desired destination, where we want the other raft or swimmer to go. For kayakers and American Rivers staff alike, pointing positive means aiming for what they want to achieve, away from obstacles and toward a safe and positive direction for healthy rivers.
At Nia we also use a “point positive” approach, and this manner of selecting purpose-driven companies sets us apart from many public market asset managers. Rather than start with an index with hundreds or thousands of companies, and work to screen out the “bad players,” we focus on where we want to go, on the companies that we see are playing a key role in the transition to the next, just sustainable economy. Most public equity product offerings available today are still built from large muddied indices, with managers using negative screens to filter out “obstacles” or companies that investors may not want to hold. While the practice of passive indexing has become ubiquitous in investing since the 1980’s, choosing companies based solely on the country location or their cap size does not point us to the sustainable future we need.
At Nia, we encourage investors to know what they own and to be proud of what they own. We encourage investors to join us in our “point positive” approach. Rather than filtering out the negative, we start with the end in mind, with what we want to achieve, and find those companies building sustainable solutions. We set our targets at the next, just, sustainable economy, and use our proprietary research methods to guide us toward what we view as best in class companies addressing and solving for our world’s largest risks. We begin with our six solution themes and design positively oriented, solutions-focused portfolios from the ground up, one company at a time. In structuring our investment offerings, we are much like American Rivers in that we design them to meet multi-benefit requirements. Not only is each company in each of our portfolios working to address one or more of the Nia solutions themes, each company also includes diverse voices and representation in leadership positions. We seek out clean energy solutions, and companies whose policies support women's health in the workplace through paid family leave, travel policies for reproductive care, etc.
We achieve this “multi-benefit” approach by raising our investor voice to move the needle on social change, partnering with nonprofit organizations doing work on the ground, and engaging directly with our portfolio companies seeking even more inclusive and sustainable business practices. We seek to build long term, win-win relationships with our portfolio companies. We use our position as investors requiring companies to pay attention to the issues we are raising and can also bring these topics to the attention of shareholders. Check out our Founder Kristin Hull using our investor voice at the recent Tesla meeting.
Like American Rivers, we see the interconnectedness of different aspects of our work: climate solutions, our financial system, and where we as individuals, and institutions choose to invest our capital. At Nia Impact Capital we are practical problem solvers building research-based portfolios moving us toward the new inclusive and sustainable economy. Our portfolios have been fossil-fuel free since inception. We encourage all asset managers and impact investors alike to keep the end goal in mind and to invest in those companies and teams that are solutions-focused, providing products and services. Join us in pointing positive and investing for the sustainable future we all want to see.
Important Disclosure:
The views presented here are those of Nia Impact Capital (“Nia”) and these views may be subject to change. All information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, yet Nia does not certify the accuracy or completeness of this information.This article does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy any security. All investments carry risk. An investor is strongly advised to consult with their investment professionals prior to making investments to ensure that they understand any associated risks.
The incorporation of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations into the investment process may cause the investment adviser to make different investments than other funds that have similar investment portfolios and/or investment styles. Under certain economic conditions this could cause the investment adviser’s performance for any of its portfolios, including the Fund, to be worse than similar funds that do not incorporate such considerations into their investment strategies or processes. In applying ESG criteria to its investment decisions, the investment adviser may forgo higher yielding investments that it would invest in absent the application of ESG investing criteria.