09.00 - 10.45

Yvonne Beri (United States of America)
Managing Director Strategic Business Development - Silver Leaf Partners, LLC

Eve Ellis (United States of America)
Portfolio Manager, Wealth Advisor - Morgan Stanley

Why Parity Matters To Investors

Research shows... Companies with a significant number of women on their boards have stronger financials than companies that lack gender diversity on their boards.
Our Mission: To disrupt the status quo of corporate America to achieve gender equality. The Parity Portfolio seeks financial and social returns.
Method of disruption: The Matterhorn Group has developed The Parity Portfolio:
1) We invest only in companies with significant numbers of women on their boards, and
2) We assume an activist investor role. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/from-morgan-stanley-investing-in-women-on-corporate-boards/

Mariela M. Vargova (United States of America)
Senior Sustainability Analyst - Rockefeller & Co.

A Perspective on the Integration of Financial Performance with Positive Sustainability Impact

Sustainable investors look for companies that offer products and services that present innovative solutions to existing environmental and societal risks and that have the potential to add value to shareholders and society. Sustainable investors also assess companies in how they manage their risks, and whether they have built a capacity and resilience in their business that can respond to future environmental and societal challenges. When innovative sustainability practices like these are embedded into the business model and mindset of a company, they tend to help increase productivity and competitive advantage, with the goal of seeking better financial results for investors and positive societal impacts.

G. Benjamin Bingham (United States of America)
Founder and CEO - 3Sisters Sustainable Management LLC

3Sisters - Performance, Strategy and Symbiosis

Taking a holistic approach to positive impact portfolio management, advisors should expect to get a variety of performances in relation to risk/strategy in the various asset classes.  The combination of these strategies provides the overall return.

For example, 2-3% return on relatively liquid cash invested in a microfinance bond ladder already skews the overall profile, improving returns and perhaps allowing for less risk in other areas. Again, venture debt in private social enterprises or other co-lending with well-established partners may provide sufficient returns to reduce the proportion dedicated to riskier equity investments. Likewise fixed returns for project finance may provide the kind of returns historically expected of equities. The constricted universe of public equities moving at more and more accelerated rates due to high speed computer trading begs the question of risk/reward and whether or not long term investing can work in a sufficiently manageable way. Deep knowledge of each position seems to be essential for outperformance. Private equity impact investing is for specialists and in order to get best results, this is a  time for fund of fund strategies to provide the kind of expertise in each area that impact investing requires.

Finding the appropriate symbiosis for each client should be each gatekeeper’s goal.