At the beginning of 2020, $16.6 trillion in US-domiciled ESG assets were held by 530 institutional investors, 384 money managers and 1,204 community investment institutions. Since 1995, the US SIF Foundation finds that sustainable investments have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 14 percent.
This data proves that the financial landscape is rapidly moving toward impact investing. As a student of finance curious about the markets and how I can make a difference, I turned to the US SIF FORUM 2021 to learn more.
Over the week of June 14th - 18th, 2021, I attended the US SIF FORUM 2021 as a Peter DeSimone Scholar. The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment conference brings together leaders of the sustainable and impact investing community to learn about approaches, trends and policy developments in the field.
This year’s conference featured 60+ speakers in 25+ sessions with topics ranging from racial justice to ESG disclosure. Additionally, the event included many opportunities to engage with the US SIF community.
The sessions I attended encompassed a wide net of issues that the impact investing space seeks to address. One of these included a panel on investing for racial justice. With panelists Yusuf George from Just Capital, Kate Finn from First Peoples Worldwide, Nicole Middleton Holloway from Natural Investments and Iyassu Essayas of Parnassus, the conversation broadened my understanding of the many groups that investments for racial justice can and should target.
Mr. George’s insights about inspiring corporate change by seeking racial diversity within talent pools brings to light an important focus area for investment in the intersection of education and career services. Ms. Finn’s comments regarding the 200% growth of native women-owned businesses, an incredible, untapped power in the US economy, calls for action on the issues with native economic invisibility—a modern form of racism. This conversation included many other significant insights which certainly provide a necessary context for investing for racial justice.
Another session I attended called “Current and Potential Impacts on the US of the International Regulatory Landscape” included a conversation between US SIF President Lisa Woll and SEC Commissioner Allison Lee. Commissioner Lee has been called by some the “most consequential acting chair of the SEC,” already having created two new positions (the Task Force on Climate and ESG Issues, and the Climate ESG Risks and Opportunities Web Page). Most recently, she is taking public comment on the rule proposal for climate disclosure.
Ms. Woll and Ms. Lee discussed the need for regulatory action to ensure that ESG remains top of mind within the financial world. Hearing two women in powerful positions within the field inspired me greatly towards continuing to learn about impact investing and the future of finance as a means of making the world a better place.
In addition to attending these and other panels (including on the Just Transition, Disability Inclusion, Biodiversity, and many more), the US SIF FORUM also introduced me to the impact investing network. I enjoyed conversations with professionals working in the field and with my fellow students about educational tools and opportunities, sustainability reports and more.
Please find the Link to US SIF Annual Conference Web Page here https://www.ussif.org/conference and the link to US SIF Peter DeSimone Student Scholarship Web Page here https://www.ussif.org/content.asp?contentid=206