Investment policy – Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investing

Webinar: Fossil Fuels: Engage or Divest

November 16, 2020February 25, 2021Chris Cox

On Monday, November 9th, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank recognized climate as a risk. Investors of all types can no longer afford to be on auto-pilot concerning investments in fossil fuels. This webinar explores two options: active engagement or divestment. We hear from Rob Berridge and Morgan LaManna of Ceres on how the recommendations of the CA 100+ and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) can enhance engagement with companies. We hear from Fr. Peter Bisson, S.J., former provincial of the Canadian Jesuit province. Under his leadership, the province became the first province to divest from fossil fuels shortly after Laudato Si’. Again, we are very grateful for the presence of Rob, Morgan, and Fr. Peter in this webinar, for their commitment to this work, and their generosity in sharing their wisdom and experience with us. As always, we welcome your feedback via a confidential evaluation found here. Slides are available here.

Webinar: Positive Screens: Going Beyond the Negative

August 21, 2020Chris Cox

On Friday, August 21st, SGI’s quarterly webinar addressed adopting positive portfolio screens. Many portfolios rely simply upon negative screens, the exclusion of certain companies from investment consideration based on social or environmental criteria. A negative screen, for instance, can preclude investing in tobacco, gambling, alcohol or weapons manufacturing. John Mueller of Dana Investment Advisors and Ariane de Vienne of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) discuss how one might view and implement positive selection criteria from the perspective of the asset manager and the asset owner. Again, we are very grateful for the presence of John and Ariane in this webinar, for their commitment to this work, and their generosity in sharing their wisdom and experience with us. As always, we welcome your feedback via a confidential evaluation found here. Slides are available here.

Holistic Approach to Socially Responsible Investing Webinar

April 13, 2019April 13, 2019Chris Cox

In recent months, some SGI members have been revisiting their policies for socially responsible investment. Such periodic reviews can be an opportunity see this ministry in a fresh light. We must evaluate the quality, forms, and priorities of our commitments as to how effectively they serve the needs of our institutions’ mission and, in a preferential way, the needs of those most vulnerable and the care for creation. In such moments, we may find the conviction to respond to the signs of the times and to change the course into which habit and convenience have settled us and our institutions. These are privileged opportunities for each member institution to consider anew how to align investments with our deepest values.

On Friday, April 12, we were joined in our webinar by two leaders within the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR): Anita Green of Wespath Investment Management and Susan Smith Makos of Mercy Investment Services. Each shared the approach that their organizations utilize for socially responsible investing.

We are very grateful for the presence of both our guests in this webinar, for their commitment to work on this issues, and their generosity in sharing their wisdom with us.

As always, we welcome your feedback via a confidential evaluation found here. Slides from the webinar are found here.

If your institution is reviewing its policy for socially responsible investment, we are happy to help. Please, contact Frank Sherman or Chris Cox. We also recommend US SIF’s free Roadmap For Money Managers and its Roadmap For Financial Advisors. We also provide a number of resources here on our website.