This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Performance of the Diversity Fund, 4/19/11 to 1/12/14 Related articlesViews on DiversityDiversity - not just a Business CaseDifference Between Diversity and InclusionImportance of inclusivity and diversityResidents of more ethnically diverse neighbourhoods actually reported higher levels of social cohesionTop 10 Reasons Diversity Is Good For The Boardroom

The plan seeks to implement Executive Order 13583 establishing a coordinated, government-wide initiative to promote diversity within the Federal government. The Executive order "directs departments and agencies to develop and implement a more comprehensive focus on diversity." The Plan focuses on:

Workforce Diversity
Workplace Inclusion
Sustainability
Much of the initiative is concerned with metrics, that is, developing and collecting appropriate statistics to measure diversity and how well the Government is meeting it's goal to become more so. Another focal point appears to be outreach. Other key steps include leadership development and mentoring.
These are all tried and true methods. While there is nothing earth shattering in the Report and Plan, we find it a welcome alternative to the eight years that the previous Administration spent talking about diversity without ever once offering a plan for the Federal Government to become more so. See: http://www.opm.gov/diversityand…

According to the New York Times, "A Swiss investment company plans to raise awareness about the shortage of women on corporate boards around the world, and generate returns for its investors in the process.

Naissance Capital, based in Zurich, is to start the Women’s Leadership Fund in January, which will invest exclusively in companies whose boards include women, or take minority stakes in companies that do not 'understand the need for greater female representation' and use it as leverage to push through changes.

R. James Breiding, a co-founder of Naissance Capital and a former director of Rothschild Corporate Finance, said the fund was created after several studies showed a correlation between the number of female directors and a company’s performance.

'We feel companies that select and recruit people on merit should do better,' Mr. Breiding said. 'Having greater diversity and independence of opinions helps.'

The fund’s board includes Kim Campbell, the former…

Social Investors Launch Campaign to Halt Proposed Changes to Proxy Access RulesAccording to Portfolio.com, "Socially concerned investors groups say they won't stand by and see Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox crimp their right to demand company accountability on important issues like the business risks of climate change. The Social Investment Forum, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and Ceres, a coalition of investors, environmental groups and others, unveiled a new web site to attract 500 institutions and financial professionals to sign a joint statement against proposed S.E.C. changes."
As we noted earlier,

"Those most directly impacted by the policy change are large in number but divided and unorganized. These include shareholder groups like the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, labor-related funds, faith-based pension funds, 'socially responsible' mutual funds, and individual stockholders...these grou…

SEC News and Enforcement Actions

On August 9, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission "filed a civil injunctive action against former senior officials of Nicor, Inc., a major Chicago-area natural gas distributor, alleging financial fraud lasting from 1999 to 2002. The SEC's complaint alleges that former Chairman, CEO and President Thomas Fisher, former CFO and Executive Vice-President Kathleen Halloran, and former Treasurer and Vice-President George Behrens engaged in or approved improper transactions, and misrepresented Nicor's gas inventory in order to meet earnings targets and increase the company's revenues under a performance-based utility rate plan."

On August 13, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced "the distribution of approximately $55.6 million in Fair Funds to more than 200,000 investors who were harmed by fraudulent market timing in certain Banc One mutual funds (One Group Funds). The Fair Fund resulted from a settled enforce…