Values-Based Investing
Institutional Investor in collaboration with IOR (Investment Office Resources), conducted an exclusive research study examining how allocators are resourcing themselves, their approaches and implementation activities to express their organization’s values through their portfolios.
Between August 16 and September 30, over 85 global investors from prominent institutions across North America, EMEA and APAC responded on if and how they were thinking about supporting their values with their investment portfolios. Across the responses, over 37% represented retirement plans (27% public and 10% private), 23% insurances companies, 17% endowments and foundations, followed by multi- and single-family offices, financial institutions, and sovereign wealth funds, which as a group made up 23%.
Demographically, 51% were in North America, 32% in EMEA and 17% in APAC. Every Institution had a minimum AUM of $500 million of more, 43% had less than $5 billion versus 57% having more than $5 billion in AUM.
Survey and study background:
The concept of investors aligning their financial goals with their values has been a feature of socially responsible investing for decades. Prominently expressed in certain types of organisations, such as healthcare, and the charitable missions of foundations, more recently, this approach has harvested significant regard, across the board, leading to a variety of approaches.
In this research, the term “values-based investing” is intended to consider the non-financial aspects of investing, broader than ESG, including DEI, SRI, impact investing, and any other non-financial considerations. As many investors are receiving values-oriented mandates from their boards, we examined specific actions and approaches that investors are taking to fulfil these objectives. The quantitative research included questions on, whether they had defined their values in a formal statement; whether that was part of their Investment Policy Statement, and whether they were thinking about integration – and if so, what tools were they using.
We thank Lisa Laird, Chief Strategist, for her collaboration and input, as well from Anthony Waskiewicz, co-Chief Investment Officer and Ryan Baily, co-Chief Investment Officer of Investment Office Resources LLC.
Lisa Laird is a mission-focused institutional investment professional with 20 years of experience and a passion for human services. She is currently Chief Strategist at Investment Office Resources and a Principal and Senior Advisor at Hightree Advisors. Previously, Lisa was the Chief Investment Officer at Providence St. Joseph Health and has held senior level consulting positions at Towers Watson Investment Services and Wilshire Associates.
Lisa is the current Treasurer and past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Seva Foundation. Over the past 40 years, Seva-supported programs and partners have helped to restore sight to nearly 5 million people around the world. She is also a member of the Sustainability Advisory Committee at Loyola Marymount University.
Lisa holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a B.S. from Cal Poly Pomona. She earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2005.
See Laird's top hits on Allocator Intel:
Global Top 50 Women In Investment Management
Conversations on Supporting Women in The Industry
Discussions on the Healthcare Group
Tony has 25+ years of industry experience and 15+ years serving as chief investment officer building an award-winning investment program. Motivated by the pursuit of excellence, a desire to make a difference, and passion to serve others, Tony is known for his collaborative style and his ability to build vibrant cultures where employees are valued and appreciated.
In 2010, Tony joined the nation’s fifth largest Catholic health system, Mercy Health (St. Louis, MO), as its first Chief Investment Officer. He built an award-winning investment program that managed the AA-rated health system’s $3B investment portfolio, including Mercy’s Short-Term Reserve Portfolio and Long-Term Investment Fund, comprised of reserve, pension and foundation assets. Under his leadership, Mercy generated above Mercy’s benchmarks and risk-adjusted metrics while receiving industry recognition including Institutional Investor’s Investment Committee of the Year (2018) and Healthcare Plan of the Year (2015). During his tenure, Tony was named aiCIO Healthcare CIO of the Year (2018) and Institutional Investor Healthcare Chief Investment Officer of the Year (2014). He was listed on Trusted Insight’s Top 30 Healthcare CIO list. In 2019-2020, Tony was ranked #31 on aiCIO’s Power 100 CIO list.
Tony is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the St. Louis Society of Investment Analysts. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and roundtables and a contributing writer for Chief Investment Officer. Tony is a graduate of Washington & Lee University (Lexington, VA) and holds an MBA from the Sellinger School of Business – Loyola University.
Ryan has spent 25 Years in Financial Services and joined IOR in 2022.
Prior to launching his own firm in 2020, Carbonado Partners, Ryan served as Head of Investments at Children’s Health System of Texas, where he oversaw $1.8 billion in assets. Ryan was named to aiCIO 40 Under 40 list in 2015 and Trusted Insight Top 30 LPs Investing in Private Equity in 2016. He was an Institutional Investor Portfolio Construction Winner in 2016 in the Healthcare sector and was awarded Institutional Investor’s Healthcare Plan of the Year in 2018. He was a CIO Magazine Industry Innovation Award Finalist in 2017 and 2018. He was a Trusted Insight Top 30 Healthcare CIO and a finalist for the Next Generation Award in 2015 and 2019. Previously, Ryan was the Interim CIO and Investment Officer at the Meadows Foundation. He began his career as an Equity Research Associate at Solomon Smith Barney, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse.
Ryan holds the CFA, FRM, CAIA, and CMT designations. He is a graduate of Yale University with a BA in Economics
To see the full report and download your Electronic Copy Click HERE. If you wold like further insights into this research study, Contact Us Here
To discuss the content of this article or gain access to like content Log In or Request Membership Here.