US SIF to Host 7th Annual Conference in Chicago, May 11-12: A New Climate for Investing in Impact

• By: admin
• On: 02/09/2017 13:04:50
• In: Events

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 8, 2017 – US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment will host its annual conference in Chicago, May 11-12. This year's conference, A New Climate for Investing in Impact, offers a unique opportunity to network with leaders of sustainable, responsible and impact investing, to hear from leading investors, CEOs and policymakers, and to learn about new approaches, trends and policy developments in the field.  Member only programming will occur on May 10, along with a live training on the Fundamentals of Sustainable and Impact Investment.

The conference attracts representatives of investment management and advisory firms, research firms, financial planners and advisors, broker-dealers, community development institutions and asset owners such as pension funds and foundations, along with policymakers and corporate leaders.

In 2017, after eight years of President Obama's leadership, a new administration is taking office, promising to roll back or restructure numerous federal initiatives relating to health care, climate change, labor laws and other key environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. At the same time, public interest in sustainable and impact investing has reached new highs. Today, more than one in five dollars of professionally managed assets in the United States are invested using environmental, social and governance criteria or guidelines, and investment professionals increasingly are expected to demonstrate their awareness of how these ESG factors affect company and portfolio financial performance. The expanded interest in sustainable and impact investing is occurring across the globe. 

This new climate presents challenges and opportunities for investors, companies and policymakers which will be explored during plenary and breakout sessions at the conference.

Topics to be explored in breakout sessions include:

  • Infrastructure and climate change adaptation and mitigation
  • Shareholder advocacy in the new climate
  • Recent research on sustainable and responsible investing
  • Intentionality and articulating impact in public equity markets
  • Portfolio management and systematic risks
  • Access to medicine
  • New pathways for sustainable and impact retail investors
  • Investing in rural communities

Plenary sessions will include discussions of:

  • how to address climate change from the perspective of investors, policymakers and companies,
  • how the new Administration will affect the policy priorities of impact investors, and
  • the role of investors in creating resilient cities

Current Prime sponsors of US SIF's 2017 Annual Conference include Bloomberg, Neuberger Berman, Parnassus Investments, Pax World Investments, RBC and Trillium Asset Management. Current Supporting sponsors are Christian Brothers Investment Services, Ariel Investments, Dana Investment Advisors, Domini Impact Investments, Eventide, Iroquois Valley Farms, MSCI, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Sentinel Investments and Sustainalytics. Contributor sponsors are Breckenridge Capital Advisors, Candriam Investors Group, KBI Global Investors, North Sky Capital and Thornburg Investment Management. The Wireless Hotspot sponsor is Natixis Global Asset Management, and the Mobile App sponsor is ClearBridge Investments. The Peter DeSimone Student Scholarship sponsors are Campbell's Soup Company and Calvert Foundation. We thank each of them for their support.

To register for the conference or for more information please visit http://bit.ly/USSIF17. To become a US SIF member or to learn about the benefits of membership please visit http://www.ussif.org/join.

About US SIF

US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment is the leading voice advancing sustainable, responsible and impact investing across all asset classes. Our mission is to rapidly shift investment practices toward sustainability, focusing on long-term investment and the generation of positive social and environmental impacts. US SIF members include investment management and advisory firms, mutual fund companies, research firms, financial planners and advisors, broker-dealers, community investing organizations, nonprofit associations, and pension funds, foundations and other asset owners.
 
US SIF is supported in its work by the US SIF Foundation, a 501(C)(3) organization that undertakes educational, research and programmatic activities to advance the mission of US SIF. Learn more at www.ussif.org.