ESG and Sustainable Investments for
Impact Investors
Many families are concerned about managing wealth responsibly and aligning their investments with their values. Parents may want to teach their children to be good stewards of money, while younger generations increasingly seek to invest in meaningful ways. Impact investing is about deploying capital to achieve positive social and environmental change while pursuing competitive financial returns.
Colorado Capital Management is a leader in the impact investing field. Our passionately committed professionals can help your family choose from a wide range of both public and private socially conscious investments.
Long before Jim and Margaret Andersen realized $15 million from the sale of their health care business, they knew they wanted to deploy their windfall in a socially responsible manner. Part of the proceeds went into a charitable foundation, with all of it invested for impact. They wanted to involve their adult children in the operation of their foundation and earn market-rate returns on their assets while simultaneously making positive, measurable changes in the world. Key areas of interest included healthcare, poverty alleviation, education and the environment. Seeking expert guidance, they came to CCM.
- Assistance with impact investing and wealth management
- $15 million in investable assets
- Goals:
- Invest the family’s money in ways that support their values
- Earn market-rate returns on investments
- Engage adult children in philanthropy and understanding the “real” meaning of wealth
- Review all current investments to divest from those that do not reflect the family’s values, such as legacy holdings in fossil fuels.
- Screen and select new investments to redeploy capital in ways that support the family’s desire to promote clean energy, health care advances and other worthy causes.
- Develop a succession plan to transfer first generation wealth to second and third generations.
- Set up a family foundation for tax, philanthropic and personal/family reasons.
To start the process, CCM’s impact investing specialists met with the family to understand their vision. Next, CCM developed a plan to invest the family’s money for maximum impact. As Jim and Margaret learned more about impact investing from CCM’s knowledgeable team, they realized that many of the issues they cared about went beyond what the government and nonprofit sectors could address. As social entrepreneurs themselves, Jim and Margaret understood the power of business to address society’s biggest challenges. We explained how impact investing could be simultaneously used to lower risk, possibly grow assets, help others, and provide meaningful satisfaction about how their assets were deployed.
CCM also worked with the Andersens’ children to address the causes they cared about. The oldest, Sam, wanted to invest in water and land conservation, sustainable timber and alternative energy projects in the United States. The middle child, Ben, sought to address lack of access to basic services—such as clean water, electricity and health care—for much of the developing world. Leah, the youngest, focused on investing in sustainable agriculture and nutrition in public schools. Through extensive research and due diligence, CCM was able to find suitable and appealing impact investments in each of these target areas.
These are fictional client picture and profiles that provide case studies that represent unique individual situations and outcomes that have been presented to CCM. Examples are for illustrative purposes only and may not necessarily be replicated.
