This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

On October 8th, we filed our response to the following SEC proposed rules: 1. Shareholder Proposals. Other Release No.: IC-27913. File No.: S7-16-07 and 2. Shareholder Proposals Relating to the Election of Directors. Other Release No.: IC-27914. File No.: S7-17-07. In our response, we note the following: Our position with respect to capital markets regulation recognizes the primacy of protecting investors. Investor interests, broadly speaking, are not served by growing levels of fraud and malfeasance. As is clear from recent events, securities laws have failed both to protect investors and to promote efficiency. “Facilitating the exercise of shareholders’ rights” will help prevent fraud from occurring. We recognize that the right to submit shareholder resolutions impacting corporate operations, governance and ownership has economic value, like any option. This option value was first uncovered by faith based investors, who found their ability to implement positive soci...

According to the Washington Post , "Legislation to promote diversity in the government's career executive ranks was introduced yesterday by the chairmen of the House and Senate federal workplace subcommittees. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) and Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) said their bill would address the lack of diversity in the Senior Executive Service, the group of about 6,300 career executives who manage the day-to-day operations of the government. The bill would establish a Senior Executive Service program office in the Office of Personnel Management . The proposed office would collect and maintain data on the race, ethnicity, gender and any disabilities of people who have been certified as qualified to serve in the SES. The bill also would require federal agencies to establish SES evaluation panels to review the qualifications of applicants for SES jobs. Each panel would have three members. One must be a woman and one other a member of a racial or ethnic minority grou...

Two conferences on Diversity highlight the growing recognition of market opportunities in this sector. The first is the 3rd Annual Mortgage Industry Emerging Markets and Diversity Conference . This is being billed as an opportunity to compete for origination opportunities and to preserve communities. It will be interesting to see if they mention recent reports noting racial bias in subprime mortgage lending. The second is the 14th Annual Ethnic and Multicultural Marketing Omnibus . November 1 - 2, 2007 in Chicago. We (Creative Investment Research, Inc.) are a media sponsor for this event, billed as an opportunity to "join a star team of Fortune 1000 clients and trail-blazers in multicultural marketing on the most successful ways of engaging the still growing and booming Multicultural Economy in the United States. One fifth of the nearly $10 Trillion in total U.S. buying power will come from the diverse multicultural segments. Learn how your brands can get a lion’s share of...