This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Recent tensions between the White House and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell have brought the issue of central bank independence into sharp focus. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's warning that "the independence of the Fed is absolutely critical" and that "playing around with the Fed can have adverse consequences, the absolute opposite of what you might be hoping for" reflects concerns quietly shared across the financial community about maintaining the institutional integrity that has anchored American economic stability and ensured America’s financial dominance. Recently, Creative Investment Research published an op-ed in the BankThink section of the American Banker Newspaper reflecting these same concerns. You can view the article here:  https://www.impactinvesting.online/2025/07/bankthink-trumps-assaults-on-federal.html Federal Reserve independence exists for compelling reasons. When central banks operate under executive branch political pressure, they ...

The House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion held a hearing on Tuesday June 25, 2019 to explore the challenges minority- and women- owned (MWO) firms face competing in the asset management industry. According to Bella Research Group’s Diverse Asset Management Project Firm Assessment, MWO firms account for approximately 8.6% of all asset management firms but only manage 1.1% of all assets under management, $785 billion out of $71.4 trillion, and are underrepresented as managers in every asset class but over-represented in the top quartile of fund performance. False assumptions harm opportunities for MWO firms. Bella’s concluded that compared to peers who manage similar asset classes, 25% of women-owned and 28% of minority-owned asset management firms fall in the top quartile on average for fund performance. Studies have shown that minority and women-led investment firms invest in more diverse entrepreneurs and businesses, enriching...