RSF Social Finance Releases Innovative Investment White Paper at SOCAP11

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) September 8, 2011 - RSF Social Finance, a leading non-profit financial services organization providing capital to innovative social enterprises, announced today that it is releasing its white paper, “A New Foundation for Portfolio Management.” This paper, authored by Leslie Christian, CEO of Portfolio 21 Investments with support from Don Shaffer, President and CEO of RSF, challenges current assumptions about risk, growth and utility, and proposes new principles to bring portfolio theory into the 21^st century. 

Leslie Christian and Don Shaffer will present the paper today, for the first time, at a special session of the SOCAP11 conference in San Francisco.   The white paper provides a set of new foundational elements to build upon current investment including:

• Integrated Risk – a scientific view of risk that incorporates ecological limits and uncertainty, both usually ignored in investing. 

• Selective Growth – growth can occur even if average economic growth is zero or negative, but it will be unique to particular sectors and companies rather than a function of rising per capita material consumption.

• Multifaceted Utility Function – investors need to have clarity with respect to the unique purpose and goals of each asset beyond solely financial returns and that these goals should be central to the investment process.

  The combination of these new principles serve as a foundation for investing that will allow investors to recalibrate their investments. They can move from a strategy based on assumptions that no longer hold true to 21^st century realities to a strategy based on reasoned and legitimate principles that stand up to scrutiny, make sense, and are useful in building investment portfolios for a new economy.   Click here to download a copy of the white paper.   About RSF Social Finance – www.rsfsocialfinance.org RSF Social Finance (RSF) is a non-profit financial services organization dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money. Inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner, RSF offers investing, lending, and giving services that generate positive social and environmental impact while fostering community and collaboration among participants. In partnership with our investors and donors, RSF has made $230 million in loans and over $100 million in grants since 1984 to for-profit and non-profit social enterprises working in the areas of Food & Agriculture, Education & the Arts, and Ecological Stewardship.   About Portfolio 21 Investments – www.portfolio21.com Portfolio 21 Investments has been a pioneer in the field of environmental and socially responsible investing since 1982. In 1999, the company launched the Portfolio 21 mutual fund to address the ecological risks and opportunities of the investment process in the 21st century. Portfolio 21 Investments is based in Portland, OR and has approximately $500 million in assets under management.   RSF16567