From ai5000 Magazine: A Profile of No One

Europeans (effete liberals!) love it. Public pensions and foundations (goody-two-shoes!) like it. Yet, to American corporate defined benefit plans, socially responsible investing—bearded hippies!—has been anathema to their very existence. Will this ever change?

Corporate Pension Fund X, Anywhere, USA, 2010… 

The first order of business is to convince him you’re not a Marxist hippie. This is not easy. When he takes a gander at this schedule for the morning and sees you on it, you and your commie-sounding imprimatur (some label like “Blue Heron Capital” or the “Forum for a Sustainable Future”), he automatically assumes you’re pitching an alpha-crushing dream of green pastures and butterflies. Then—you actually step into his office. If you have any sense about you, you’re sporting a somber time and a close-cropped hairstyle, blending in as best you can with this foreign world. Helloooo?, he says, elongating the vowel to signal a hint of suspicion. What can I help you with today?

It’s best not to mention certain words. “Green” is one of them. “Social” and “responsible” are both borderline. Banish the word “environment” from your lexicon. But you have to start somewhere. Let’s look at the great macro trends of the 21st century, you say. Urbanization. Resource scarcity. Population growth. How are you integrating this with your investment analysis? 

To read the rest of the magazine article, click here.

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