PRESS RELEASE
August 5, 2019
It’s About Time: Impact Investors Confront Lack of Diversity in Field
New Report from Confluence Philanthropy calls on investors to promote racial equity
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – Confluence Philanthropy released a new report today that offers a strong call to action to advance racial equity in the investment industry. The report, “It’s About Time: A Call to Advance Racial Equity in the Investment Industry,” is the result of a year-long listening tour and research effort.
The dynamic, rapidly-growing field of impact investing has a global market valued at $502 billion – but there is a glaring contradiction: only a small percentage of funds are managed by firms owned by women or people of color, and investment professionals in foundations and leading firms reflect little, if any, racial diversity.
Across the industry, people of color are absent from top leadership roles and shut out from industry-shifting positions of influence. Though the field is paying more attention to gender issues and giving greater voice to historically-disadvantaged groups through community finance, little serious attention has been given to opening the massive global investment market to managers of color.
“The economic costs of racial inequity are far too great to ignore,” said Cynthia Muller, Director of Mission Investment at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “Our systems have created hurdles fueled by racism and it will take economic interventions to dismantle them. This report challenges our field to embrace a racial equity lens so that everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Confluence – a network of foundations, family offices, high-net worth individual donors and their values-aligned investment advisors – launched its Racial Equity in Investing Initiative in March 2018 to explore the issues underlying this industry blind spot. With the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Confluence undertook a year-long listening process and tapped existing research to better understand the state of the field around issues of diversity and inclusion in impact investing.
This report serves as a starting point for Confluence and the investment community to better understand the pervasive atmosphere of racial inequity surrounding the control of capital. The report’s findings were culled from interviews, a two-day retreat with asset managers and asset owners, and a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion track at Confluence’s Ninth Annual Practitioners Gathering in Brooklyn, New York in March 2019.
“Our commitment to racial and economic justice must go beyond grantmaking. Philanthropy has the opportunity to change a faulty investment playbook that has excluded too many, for too long. Supporting diverse fund managers and investing in historically marginalized communities can advance our mission while providing an exciting new stream of opportunity. Confluence Philanthropy’s report It’s About Time gives us the insight and imperative to lead by example.”
- Sharon Alpert, President and CEO, Nathan Cummings Foundation
The report outlines the key takeaways, particularly for investors, and recommends ways investors can embrace racial equity in the investment process. In addition, it invites investors to join Confluence in its commitment to welcome, honor, and uphold the very premise of diversity – a core component of any well-balanced investment portfolio.
“This report is a call to action for the Impact Investing community. The economy is shaped not just by how capital is allocated, but by who allocates capital. In order to build a truly equitable society capital stewards must reflect the demographics of a democratic society.”
-Dana Lanza, President & CEO, Confluence Philanthropy
With this report as a backdrop, Confluence will host an open webinar on September 10, 2019, featuring Cynthia Muller, Director of Mission Investment at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Bob Bancroft, Vice President of Finance at the Nathan Cummings Foundation. The webinar will be moderated by Geeta Aiyer, President and Founder of Boston Common Asset Management. The discussion will center on how foundations are already acting on these issues and incorporating them into their investment practice. Additional details will be announced later in August.
Confluence’s Racial Equity in Investing Initiative was launched thanks to the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The publication of the report was made possible thanks to additional support from the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Confluence Philanthropy supports and catalyzes the work of private, public and community foundations, family offices, individual donors, and investment advisors who are committed to moving philanthropy towards mission-aligned investment. For more information, visit www.confluencephilanthropy.org or follow Confluence on Twitter at @ConfluenceP.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. To learn more, visit www.wkkf.org or follow WKKF on Twitter at @wk_kellogg_fdn.
The Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) - Rooted in the Jewish tradition of social justice, the Nathan Cummings Foundation works to create a more just, vibrant, sustainable and democratic society. The Foundation focuses on finding solutions to the two most challenging problems of our time – the climate crisis and growing inequality – and aims to transform the systems and mindsets that hinder progress toward a more sustainable and equitable future for all people, particularly women and people of color.
Believing that the Foundation should use all its resources in service of its mission, the board has committed to investing 100 percent of its nearly half-billion-dollar endowment to align with NCF’s mission. The Foundation has awarded nearly $500 million in grants over the last 28 years to support those pursuing justice for people and the planet. For more information, visit www.nathancummings.org or follow NCF on Twitter @NCFImpact.
