Insights from the President of Parnassus Investments
Article
By Benjamin E. Allen, President, Parnassus Investments and a portfolio manager for the Parnassus Core Equity Fund
As President of Parnassus Investments, I often think about what responsible investing might look like over the coming decades. The future is anchored in the past, so I believe the best way to begin an answer to this question is with a look back at the early years of responsible investing.
by Theo Ferguson; founder, Healing Living Systems and Stuart Valentine; founder, Centerpoint Investment Strategies
Imagine you are seated on a patio in the Tuscan countryside. The fresh mozzarella coupled with sweet tomatoes, ripe from the warm sun, pairs beautifully with the garlic sourdough bread and crisp local wine. The setting opens the heart and soothes the soul. The vineyard you overlook is in its crucial stage of ripening, that last conversion of acid to sugar, and the company of friends and family couldn’t be better.
by Najada Kumbuli, Officer, Strategic Initiatives at Calvert Foundation
Are you a millennial? I have bad news and good news for you. The bad news is that climate change and gender equality — two key issues you care about — will cost our generation over $30 trillion; that is the equivalent of the American, Chinese and Japanese economies combined. The good news is that, while scary, we can use our voices and investable assets to create real change, quickly!
US sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing continues to expand. The total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies grew from $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014 to $8.72 trillion at the start of 2016, an increase of 33 percent, as shown in Figure A. These assets now account for more than one out of every five dollars under professional management in the United States.
