Aug. 8, 2023
Episode 69: Maureen Maguire - Can You Build Wealth Through ESG Investing?
Why are more people than ever investing in ESG companies and funds? Maureen Maguire, co-founder of Terra Blue Management, speaks to Jennifer Norman about values-driven financial planning and why her business is booming.
Maureen's Links:
- Website https://www.terrabluewm.com/
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/tbwm/
The Human Beauty Movement Links:
- Official Website https://www.thehumanbeautymovement.com
- Community Website https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehumanbeautymovement
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thehumanbeautymovement
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thehumanbeautymovement
- Podcast https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-human-beauty-movement
- Twitter https://twitter.com/The__HBM
- TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thehumanbeautymovement
- Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/thehumanbeautymovement
- YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thehumanbeautymovement
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-human-beauty-movement
Jennifer Norman Links:
- Lnk.Bio https://lnk.bio/iamjennnorman
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifernorman
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/iamjennnorman
- TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@iamjennnorman
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jennifertnorman
- Twitter https://twitter.com/iamjennnorman
- Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/iamjennnorman
- YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@iamjennnorman
- Medium https://jennifer-norman.medium.com/
Thank you for being a Beautiful Human.
Transcript
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Hello Beautiful Humans.
Welcome to the podcast where I
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00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:15,240
have juicy conversations with
beautiful humans for your weekly
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00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,600
dose of inspiration.
I'm Jennifer Norman, founder of
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the Human Beauty Movement and
your host.
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This podcast counts on your
support, so I encourage you to
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00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,400
hit that follow button, rate us
and review us and share this
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00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,720
episode with your favorite
people.
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So it wasn't until later in
life, after I had over about
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$1,000,000 to invest, that I
decided to hire a financial
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planner.
And let me tell you, they aren't
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all alike.
While helping you meet your
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wealth management targets is of
course the ultimate goal, the
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way to get there varies greatly.
If you're a person that believes
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in achieving the highest yields
in a Machiavellian style,
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certainly that is one way to
invest.
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If, on the other hand, you
believe in the importance of
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investing and companies working
to build a regenerative future,
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that will certainly render a
different strategy.
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No doubt there's been a lot of
controversy lately about
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investment strategies that heavy
up on ESG sustainable
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businesses.
Is it fiscally prudent to put
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your money in environmental,
social and government
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investments?
Here to talk about that and more
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is Maureen McGuire, cofounder of
Tara Blue Wealth Management, an
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advisory firm that offers ESG
only investments.
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Welcome, Maureen.
Thank you very happy to be here.
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Nice to have an opportunity to
talk about what I feel so
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strongly about.
Absolutely.
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And I'm really excited to have
this conversation because it's
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an important one.
So first and foremost, why don't
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you tell us why you founded
Terribly Wealth Management?
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I have been doing financial
advising and financial planning
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for 30 some years and I was kind
of at the point where I was
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either going to retire or I was
going to fulfill my vision,
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which was to have an.
Exclusively ESG focused
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financial management firm, but I
needed to find the right
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business partner because I
didn't really have the energy to
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start over by myself.
So it took several years and
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then I met Vanessa Gillett who's
my business partner.
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We were both doing pro bono
financial planning for Santa
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Rosa fire victims back in 2019.
As we got to know each other
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over the course of a year or so,
we realized that we were very
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like minded and.
In terms of our passion for ESG
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and our interest in financial
planning and what that does for
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our clients, so went from
McGuire Wealth Management to a
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firm that we Co founded in 2020
just before COVID terribly
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Wealth management and our focus
is exclusively on ESG
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investments and we're very heavy
on the financial planning side.
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So it's worked out really well
far beyond my expectations.
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It just happened that the Airbnb
Ipo's were happening.
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As is a millennial, she
resonates very well with the
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millennial population.
And so she became very talked
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about in the bulletin boards,
shall we say with the tech
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sector and executives in the
tech sector.
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So terribly took off in spite of
COVID, it actually worked to our
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advantage.
I hate to say that, but to not
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have to meet in person with the
volume of new business coming in
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made it possible to keep up,
shall we say, with just starting
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out.
My background has been financial
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planning.
First, investment management as
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outcome of the financial
planning.
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I can't possibly design A
portfolio without knowing
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everything about my clients
before I make a recommendation.
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And a lot of my clients are
social justice oriented in my
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age group.
So civil rights activists, you
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know?
Going back to the 60s, that type
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of thing.
But there's also in my age group
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and older people who either
their parents or in some cases
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even themselves, are influenced
by the Great Depression.
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So for them, thinking about
financial security is more about
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accumulation, more is better,
and that's understandable given
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the scarcity that they
experienced or their parents
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experienced.
I myself didn't really
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understand what financial
security was.
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Until I entered this profession.
As I started to learn about it,
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I came from a blue collar family
and I was really interested in
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how people achieve financial
security.
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And it didn't take long for me
to realize that it had very
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little, if anything, to do with
how much money a person have.
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Yeah, because I work with
clients who live on what I
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consider very meager means, and
they're financially secure
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because they don't have a flashy
lifestyle.
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They're content within means.
I have another client.
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For 20 some years, who's a
lovely lady and she has $20,000
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of income a month that she does
not have to work for, does not
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have a mortgage and she has to
be on a budget.
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So financial security for her is
almost not achievable because
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the money is trying to fill a
void that you know they can't
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fill.
So I'm really interested in
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sufficiency and experience of
sufficiency.
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And that's really when I work
with a client.
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I really want that person to
understand that.
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Financially secure by
understanding their investments
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and understanding the role of
the investments in their life
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and their life choices.
So that all fits very well.
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The millennial group that
Vanessa tends to work with is so
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beautiful because they don't
have that Depression era mindset
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and many of them have come into
tremendous wealth early in life
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and they don't feel like they
have to show it off or
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accumulate more.
They're actually, there's a huge
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movement within that generation
of.
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To one, make sure their work has
purpose, but also their money
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and their capital and what it's
doing has a greater purpose.
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So it's not about accumulating
for the sake of accumulating,
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it's for having an impact and
being very deliberate about that
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impact.
So it's really a privilege to
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speak with this generation about
money from that perspective.
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In that context, it's just it's
really wonderful, amazing.
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So now what got you so
interested and passionate about
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ESG in the first place that you
would want to found a company
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that does nothing but ESG
Investments?
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Well, I come from the nonprofit
sector before I became a
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financial planner, and I worked
for an organization that was
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going to end world hunger by the
year 2000.
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That didn't happen, but we did
bring relief organizations
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together to start thinking
proactively instead of just
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crisis management around world
hunger.
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And again, it goes back to that
sufficiency that there is enough
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to go around and we just need
to.
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Think in terms of taking care of
everyone.
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And so my background has been
more in terms of, again, what's
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it going to take for people to
feel safe and secure in this
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world?
Because I think that would do a
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lot more than weaponry for
peace.
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And that's the big picture.
But I also came to realize that
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where there's money, there's
power, there's influence.
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So the more I understood
capitalism and how it worked,
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and the political structure and
how it worked, the more I
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understood that.
The degree to which we can move
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capital in the right direction
and have a voice with our
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investments, and not only
probably more significantly how
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we spend our money, but
certainly how we invest our
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money now. 20 years ago, it was
started from the religious
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organizations wanting to do no
harm.
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So no alcohol, no tobacco.
It has grown significantly since
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then and I can assure you, back
20 years ago at the Conferences
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for Socially Responsible
Investing, there was plenty of.
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Alcohol going around.
So that wasn't really the screen
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you're concerned about.
But certainly the environment
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and social issues have risen.
And at that time, 20 years ago,
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we did not have research to say,
you know, this is not going to
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hurt performance because I had a
smaller realm of investments to
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choose from.
It was more exclusionary.
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You try to avoid the bad guys.
It was a much more challenging
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endeavor.
And I really had to say to a
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client in those days, I don't
know that I can.
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Match the indexes with your
portfolio or you will do you
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want to have your values
represented in your portfolio
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and it may be at the expense of
performance and some people
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would say yes.
Again we're talking to Greshan
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era investors, so not so much
but sometimes they would say I
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care more about having my values
represent I'm one of my clients.
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I just love her dearly.
She had very meager means and
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and I actually said to her, you
know, I think that we need to do
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something very careful here for.
You in terms of guarantees and I
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I don't have a socially
responsible way of doing this.
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And she said, why should I be
secure when people are hungry in
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the world?
So I learned from my clients
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that was, you know, she
literally did not see her needs
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as being more important than the
person in Africa trying to carry
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water to the family.
And she has held to that value
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in all the years I've worked
with her.
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Yeah, I think that's a lot of
people will say, OK, I care very
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much about nonprofits, good
about charity.
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And so they will give money or
they'll donate as part of maybe
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it's a tax exclusion or
something like that.
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But they don't necessarily think
that it is a longterm strategy
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for them to retire on.
They might have a bit of
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skepticism about whether or not
that is actually fiduciarily
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responsible or a way to get the
kind of growth and the goals
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that they want in order to
retire comfortably.
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What would you say to people
like that?
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OK.
So Fast forward to today, from
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that era and you'll.
Will find that not only does it
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make sense from a fiduciary
standpoint, but in fact it's
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possibly neglect on your part to
not take climate change for
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example into account.
So we've seen evidence of it in
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terms of during COVID.
The companies that treated their
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employees well are the companies
that's you know for the most
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part did well.
The companies who made their
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employees work when they were
sick got into big trouble.
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Reputational risk.
Wells Fargo is an example
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Volkswagen.
Intending to do the right thing.
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So to the degree that we are
holding companies accountable
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and more and more we are to do
the right thing by their
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community, by their employees is
a degree to which you have less
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risk exposure really to climate
change, to reputational risk, It
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just makes sense.
A company that is taking care of
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the larger community and not
just the CEO tends to be a more
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well run company.
So that.
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Said will it outperform at all
times?
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Not necessarily, if you're not
doing traditional energy stocks.
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The recent history is a good
example.
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Yeah, Prior to 2022, not having
exposure to all of the oil
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stocks that are in the index
worked well in our favorite
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those stocks were really
depressed.
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Then the COVID hits.
Oil and gas companies have an
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opportunity to raise prices and
increase their profits hugely.
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Essentially, significantly.
And now it's somewhat of a
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disadvantage to be less exposed
to the energy sector.
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So there's always going to be
shortterm periods of time where
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the ESG focus may be somewhat to
an advantage or to a
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disadvantage of the whole
concept to ESG, which we, you
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know, spoke to 20 years earlier
but we couldn't prove.
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Now we have evidence for a lot
of research showing that having
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a perspective that is based on
the.
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Longterm outcome rather than
shareholder returns quarter by
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quarter.
If you just think about running
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a household based on what
happened this quarter, next
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square, you know, do we have
enough money in?
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Oh, we can go to Disneyland.
We have money now.
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That's just not how you run a
company.
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You need to be thinking in terms
of both.
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We have turnover that is
expensive.
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It takes a lot of resources to
bring in new employees, so we
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better take care of the
employees we have.
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That may not show up and from
1/4 to the next, but long term
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it does show up.
Likewise, if you're taking into
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account the toxic waste the
impact is having on your
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community and what can we do to
make sure?
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Or it isn't harming the drinking
water for our town.
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That may not show up quarter to
quarter, but eventually it
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catches up with you and you end
up having to pay for your cents
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if you're not paying attention.
Yeah, I was going to say like
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recently with the, you know,
financial upset that we've had
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and a lot of people
unfortunately are pointing to
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Silicon Valley Bank as being an
example of, well, you know, they
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put all their eggs in their
basket and DEI and ESG and look
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what happened.
It was risky.
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So a lot of people are using
that almost to scapegoat the
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fact that, you know, maybe ESG
isn't where you want to put your
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money.
What would you say to that?
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You know, I think it's a
compliment that there is so much
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pushback to ESG and it's because
we're having an impact, we're
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making a difference.
We're putting pressure on CEO's.
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They do not like having their
compensation looked at.
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They do not like having to be
held accountable for the impact
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they're having on the
environment or how they're
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treating their employees.
So it's like so much else people
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understand.
And that just accumulating
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profit for the sake of
accumulating profit isn't going
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to cut it in the long run.
And people want to have money
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deployed in a way that is more
fair to everyone and not just to
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the 1%.
Now the media is fed, mainstream
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media is fed by that 1%.
So we don't get that
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perspective.
What we get is distractions and
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stories.
I mean to say that Silicon
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Valley Bank went under because
they were so focused on DEI that
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they.
Shows a total misinterpretation
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and lack of understanding of how
banks work and what went into.
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It's much more technical and and
just an understanding of taking,
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having longterm money invested
and then people wanting their
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money all at once with bonds.
I mean it has nothing to do with
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00:14:20,550 --> 00:14:23,510
DEI, but you know it's an
interesting distraction.
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It's an easier way to talk about
it, even the way we measure our
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economy.
If you think about it, GDP,
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gross domestic product, that's
based on consumer.
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Terrorism, that's all it's based
on.
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So, and we're only doing well if
we keep spending more money and
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we keep consuming more money.
Ultimately, is that really a
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measure of how our economy is
doing when so many people are
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going hungry?
When we have the highest infant
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00:14:47,310 --> 00:14:51,550
mortality rate of any developed
country, how can it possibly be
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a measure of the wealth of our
country and the health of our
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00:14:54,350 --> 00:14:57,430
economy?
So well after the Depression we
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had something called democratic
capitalism, where the role of
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00:15:01,110 --> 00:15:04,150
the government was.
To provide a safety net as well
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as a healthy economy and
opportunity for the
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entrepreneurs and the risk
takers.
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And it worked really well.
But in the 1980s it became more
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of a focus of less government,
more profits, and less control
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of the media than could you
imagine today, trying to make a
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00:15:22,430 --> 00:15:26,230
case for tobacco and smoking
being dangerous to your health.
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You could not do it because
there's no regulation around
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truth versus lies with the FTC.
It's much easier to create
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distraction, but really we look
around and we see the
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homelessness on the street, so
we know that so many people can
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be doing so well, making so much
money when so many people are
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suffering.
This is not a healthy economy.
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00:15:48,590 --> 00:15:52,710
Let's switch gears and talk
about the kind of clients that
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00:15:52,750 --> 00:15:55,870
are attracted to you talked
about, you know depression era,
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00:15:55,870 --> 00:15:58,630
you talked about millennials,
but you offer a number of
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00:15:58,630 --> 00:16:01,790
different services, not just
like longterm financial wealth
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management.
Who would you say is your ideal
285
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client?
Our ideal client and we're tend
286
00:16:07,310 --> 00:16:10,590
to be drawn to us, our clients
who are concerned about the
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00:16:10,590 --> 00:16:15,350
longterm impact of their
spending, their activities,
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00:16:15,350 --> 00:16:19,310
their investments as well.
And so we're not imposing
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00:16:19,310 --> 00:16:20,910
something, it's just a belief
system.
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00:16:20,910 --> 00:16:24,190
It's an understanding that we're
part of a bigger picture and we
291
00:16:24,190 --> 00:16:27,390
want to make a contribution or
we certainly don't want to being
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harmful to the environment or to
people in third world countries
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who are.
Suppliers to the companies that
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we work with.
We want to have a voice in how
295
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our money is deployed.
We also like working with people
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and people are drawn to us who
want to understand their
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00:16:42,750 --> 00:16:45,230
finances, not just be told what
to do.
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But they're lifelong learners
like we are and aware of their
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00:16:49,470 --> 00:16:53,510
choices and how the decisions
that people make today have
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tremendous impact on where, what
the opportunities will be for
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them when they're 20 years from
now, 30 years from now.
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So ongoing conversations that.
Are deep and meaningful and take
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00:17:04,910 --> 00:17:08,790
into account both the very
personal needs of a person, but
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also how that fits in with the
larger picture.
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00:17:11,470 --> 00:17:13,230
OK.
And then in terms of the
306
00:17:13,790 --> 00:17:17,829
companies and the types of
portfolios that you bring on,
307
00:17:17,829 --> 00:17:20,470
how are they vetted?
Do you have another company or
308
00:17:20,470 --> 00:17:23,790
set of companies that actually
go in and look and evaluate
309
00:17:23,790 --> 00:17:26,950
these companies based upon a
specific set of criteria?
310
00:17:26,950 --> 00:17:29,830
Are there different ones for
different packages of
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portfolios?
Can you tell us a little bit
312
00:17:31,590 --> 00:17:32,910
about that?
Great question.
313
00:17:32,950 --> 00:17:37,230
Yes, we do not do stock picking.
We have someone on our team that
314
00:17:37,230 --> 00:17:41,310
does do stock picking and does
that through the ESG lens, but
315
00:17:41,310 --> 00:17:45,270
that's because he's a specialist
in option trading and for a few
316
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people that's an appropriate
fit.
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Otherwise we work with EFT
managers and mutual fund
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00:17:51,270 --> 00:17:54,630
managers and they're, as most
people know, there's a lot of
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00:17:54,630 --> 00:17:57,710
what's called greenwashing going
on where people say that they're
320
00:17:57,790 --> 00:18:01,070
ESG, but it's a marketing
technique and does not mean
321
00:18:01,070 --> 00:18:03,990
they're necessarily.
Doing anything with regard to
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00:18:03,990 --> 00:18:08,110
ESG are very little.
I could give examples, but what
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00:18:08,110 --> 00:18:10,430
we do is we have a very strict
criteria.
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00:18:10,430 --> 00:18:14,550
We do don't work with any fund
manager that isn't doing
325
00:18:14,550 --> 00:18:17,910
shareholder activism because
that's really where the impact
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00:18:17,910 --> 00:18:22,470
is, is where you take the many
dollars that all the investors
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00:18:22,470 --> 00:18:26,470
together gives you a seat at the
table where you can say, hey, we
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want you to measure how you're
doing in terms of your carbon
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footprint and gender equality
and.
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As they say, what gets measured
gets managed.
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So they may not measure up in
every you know in every regard,
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but we can hold them accountable
and try to move the needle a
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little bit.
Then we also use a lot of
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research around the impact and
we can actually measure exactly
335
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how much of our dollars are
exposed to private prison
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industry of an example we
discovered we had a lot more
337
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exposure to that than we wanted
and when we looked into it also
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with palm oil and then we.
That well for example with the
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00:19:04,270 --> 00:19:08,470
prison industry is very hard to
not have exposure if you take
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into account that they're
feeding the prisoners and if we
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invest in a company that
provides the food for the
342
00:19:14,230 --> 00:19:18,150
prisoners or the phone contact
are we you know indirectly we're
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00:19:18,150 --> 00:19:21,710
participating in the private
prison industry but and then we
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came away and decided that's
acceptable we want prisoners to
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have good food.
So.
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But so nothing is in the
research is still somewhat
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00:19:30,390 --> 00:19:33,910
nascent, and there's some.
Agreement research in both in
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00:19:33,910 --> 00:19:36,910
terms of impact that you're
having and how you're measuring
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that as well as what's called
exclusionary.
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You know, companies that are not
doing harm an imprecise science,
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00:19:43,990 --> 00:19:47,830
but it's something that we keep
working on and keep improving
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and there's more and more
research becoming available in
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Europe is way ahead of us.
They have much higher standards
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for accountability than we have
in this country.
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So can you identify some of your
favorite companies that might be
356
00:20:00,990 --> 00:20:03,790
like outstanding within?
Portfolios that you say, Oh, I
357
00:20:03,790 --> 00:20:05,910
see them across a number of
different.
358
00:20:05,950 --> 00:20:08,110
Are you asking about individual?
Yeah.
359
00:20:08,510 --> 00:20:12,190
These are the fund managers,
wealth companies I think to
360
00:20:12,190 --> 00:20:13,470
start.
Well.
361
00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,720
What's most intriguing to me
right now, and I can't tell you
362
00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:19,320
exactly what the companies are,
but I know that with
363
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,240
infrastructure, Bill, that it
has opened up tremendous
364
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,800
opportunities around
environmental impact,
365
00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,560
innovation.
And as you can imagine, there's
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00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:33,200
a lot going on in that regard.
But now there's funding for it
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00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:35,640
and it's huge.
And so there are companies that
368
00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,520
have been starting out, they're
not just starting, they've been
369
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,240
doing this work for a while, but
now they have funding to take it
370
00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:43,760
to the next level.
So I really want to.
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Learn more about what those
which companies they are.
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00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:51,320
But we work with Lord Abbott and
their bond fund exclusively.
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It is not just avoiding the oil
companies, but looking to the
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00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,640
companies that are doing,
reversing carbon footprint and
375
00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:02,160
catching up with what they're
doing in Europe really.
376
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,240
And Europe is also then seeing
us take the lead with the
377
00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,320
infrastructure bill.
They're also upping their ante.
378
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,600
And so there's the opportunities
abroad as well.
379
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,560
So that's the sector that I'm
most excited about at this
380
00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,160
point.
Me apparently and B does a
381
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,800
fabulous job of treating their
employees well.
382
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,720
I know they get bad press with
the party scene and all of that,
383
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,880
but they really do.
I mean during COVID they made
384
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:30,480
housing available to people.
They offer all benefits to their
385
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,240
employees that above and beyond
what you see in most companies.
386
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,840
So they bring an example.
An example?
387
00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,840
What has surprised you most
since you've opened your doors?
388
00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:43,320
Since we switched to.
Terrible versus McGuire Wealth
389
00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,280
Management.
I think the demand for what we
390
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,720
do, the fact that I mean it is
become very, very popular as
391
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,840
they say to the point where
there's greenwashing that wasn't
392
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,440
quite as robust in 2019 when we
started.
393
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:01,560
So I'm surprised.
And also as I say the, I want to
394
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,520
say magnanimity word, I don't
use very often, but I'm the
395
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,400
millennial generation, their
understanding, their leadership,
396
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:14,150
their clarity is so inspiring.
I have to agree absolutely.
397
00:22:14,230 --> 00:22:18,030
Now you decided to certify Tara
Blue as a B Corp, Can you tell
398
00:22:18,030 --> 00:22:19,470
us a little bit about that
decision?
399
00:22:19,670 --> 00:22:22,830
Sure, I learned about V Corpse,
I don't know, maybe 15 years
400
00:22:22,830 --> 00:22:25,190
ago.
And as when I had my own
401
00:22:25,230 --> 00:22:28,190
company, I didn't really have
the resources to go through that
402
00:22:28,190 --> 00:22:30,110
certification, but it was high
on the list.
403
00:22:30,150 --> 00:22:33,670
So when Vanessa and I joined
forces, within a year we started
404
00:22:33,670 --> 00:22:37,910
that application process.
And I really like to be in the
405
00:22:37,910 --> 00:22:41,110
company of other business owners
who share this.
406
00:22:41,230 --> 00:22:45,510
Vision, this sense of obligation
to the larger community and as
407
00:22:45,510 --> 00:22:48,790
rigorous as the process was to
become certified.
408
00:22:48,790 --> 00:22:50,790
I believe you're V certified as
well, right?
409
00:22:50,790 --> 00:22:54,950
So you're very familiar with it.
It was very time consuming, very
410
00:22:54,950 --> 00:23:00,470
demanding, but I was very
revealing as well because we, as
411
00:23:00,590 --> 00:23:04,350
every V Corp does, I think
strives to get the highest score
412
00:23:04,350 --> 00:23:06,950
possible.
Started out thinking we deserved
413
00:23:06,950 --> 00:23:08,790
a higher score that we actually
got.
414
00:23:09,590 --> 00:23:11,110
We're still in a very
respectable.
415
00:23:11,630 --> 00:23:17,190
Highest 17% of financial
services V corps score wise, but
416
00:23:17,190 --> 00:23:18,950
we know what we can do to
improve.
417
00:23:18,950 --> 00:23:23,030
So the continuous quality
improvement we can strive to do
418
00:23:23,030 --> 00:23:26,190
better and we're already doing
that and just working with other
419
00:23:26,190 --> 00:23:28,750
big corps has been really,
really fantastic.
420
00:23:28,950 --> 00:23:32,670
Yeah, when we're talking about
values minded business and for
421
00:23:32,670 --> 00:23:36,270
financial planning and for
wealth management it is, it's
422
00:23:36,270 --> 00:23:39,070
actually pretty extraordinary.
I don't think that there's very
423
00:23:39,070 --> 00:23:44,750
many of you that really are, you
know, in that place where the
424
00:23:44,750 --> 00:23:48,230
transparency, the value
proposition, the way that you're
425
00:23:48,230 --> 00:23:52,630
operating is really, you know,
very much involved in social as
426
00:23:52,630 --> 00:23:56,910
well as environmental impact.
And so, yeah, congratulations on
427
00:23:56,910 --> 00:23:58,590
that front.
I think part of that is the
428
00:23:58,590 --> 00:24:03,230
transition of thinking about
capitalism as being something
429
00:24:03,230 --> 00:24:06,390
other than for the very, very
wealthy and for the benefit of
430
00:24:06,390 --> 00:24:08,870
the very, very wealthy for
capitalism to work.
431
00:24:08,870 --> 00:24:11,070
But I think we really have to go
back to what it was we.
432
00:24:11,190 --> 00:24:16,030
Where the movement towards
deregulation occurred and where,
433
00:24:16,070 --> 00:24:18,270
I suppose it was born of the
Depression, where there was an
434
00:24:18,270 --> 00:24:22,190
understanding that social
capitalism is what works, where
435
00:24:22,190 --> 00:24:27,070
there is a an obligation beyond
the shareholders, it's Milton
436
00:24:27,070 --> 00:24:30,910
Friedman made a whole argument
in favor of those corporations
437
00:24:30,910 --> 00:24:33,190
exist only for the benefit of
the shareholders.
438
00:24:33,350 --> 00:24:36,190
I think we're bumping up against
the limits of that model.
439
00:24:37,190 --> 00:24:39,790
Really has to serve the larger
community for sure.
440
00:24:39,790 --> 00:24:43,950
Well, Maureen McGuire, cofounder
of Terra Blue Wealth Management,
441
00:24:43,950 --> 00:24:49,550
making the argument for going
all in on ESG for your wealth in
442
00:24:49,550 --> 00:24:52,110
the future.
And it does make good sense to
443
00:24:52,110 --> 00:24:54,710
put your money where the
sustainable business is.
444
00:24:54,710 --> 00:24:58,910
And if people and the planet are
prospering, then so can you.
445
00:24:59,190 --> 00:25:01,150
Thank you so much, Maureen, for
joining me today.
446
00:25:01,230 --> 00:25:02,630
Thank you so much for the
opportunity.
447
00:25:03,310 --> 00:25:06,430
Thank you for listening to the
Human Beauty Movement podcast.
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Be sure to follow, rate and
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455
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human.
00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,480
Hello Beautiful Humans.
Welcome to the podcast where I
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I'm Jennifer Norman, founder of
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your host.
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hit that follow button, rate us
and review us and share this
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episode with your favorite
people.
8
00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,490
So it wasn't until later in
life, after I had over about
9
00:00:32,490 --> 00:00:36,010
$1,000,000 to invest, that I
decided to hire a financial
10
00:00:36,010 --> 00:00:38,490
planner.
And let me tell you, they aren't
11
00:00:38,490 --> 00:00:40,650
all alike.
While helping you meet your
12
00:00:40,650 --> 00:00:43,850
wealth management targets is of
course the ultimate goal, the
13
00:00:43,850 --> 00:00:48,050
way to get there varies greatly.
If you're a person that believes
14
00:00:48,050 --> 00:00:51,850
in achieving the highest yields
in a Machiavellian style,
15
00:00:52,090 --> 00:00:54,490
certainly that is one way to
invest.
16
00:00:54,690 --> 00:00:57,650
If, on the other hand, you
believe in the importance of
17
00:00:57,650 --> 00:01:01,730
investing and companies working
to build a regenerative future,
18
00:01:01,810 --> 00:01:04,450
that will certainly render a
different strategy.
19
00:01:04,610 --> 00:01:07,770
No doubt there's been a lot of
controversy lately about
20
00:01:07,770 --> 00:01:11,810
investment strategies that heavy
up on ESG sustainable
21
00:01:11,810 --> 00:01:14,410
businesses.
Is it fiscally prudent to put
22
00:01:14,410 --> 00:01:17,130
your money in environmental,
social and government
23
00:01:17,130 --> 00:01:20,050
investments?
Here to talk about that and more
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00:01:20,090 --> 00:01:24,970
is Maureen McGuire, cofounder of
Tara Blue Wealth Management, an
25
00:01:24,970 --> 00:01:29,090
advisory firm that offers ESG
only investments.
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00:01:29,170 --> 00:01:32,170
Welcome, Maureen.
Thank you very happy to be here.
27
00:01:32,290 --> 00:01:34,890
Nice to have an opportunity to
talk about what I feel so
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00:01:34,890 --> 00:01:36,810
strongly about.
Absolutely.
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00:01:36,810 --> 00:01:39,570
And I'm really excited to have
this conversation because it's
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00:01:39,570 --> 00:01:42,690
an important one.
So first and foremost, why don't
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00:01:42,690 --> 00:01:45,730
you tell us why you founded
Terribly Wealth Management?
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00:01:45,850 --> 00:01:49,410
I have been doing financial
advising and financial planning
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00:01:49,570 --> 00:01:54,610
for 30 some years and I was kind
of at the point where I was
34
00:01:54,650 --> 00:01:57,690
either going to retire or I was
going to fulfill my vision,
35
00:01:57,690 --> 00:02:02,410
which was to have an.
Exclusively ESG focused
36
00:02:02,450 --> 00:02:05,450
financial management firm, but I
needed to find the right
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00:02:05,450 --> 00:02:09,610
business partner because I
didn't really have the energy to
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00:02:09,650 --> 00:02:14,210
start over by myself.
So it took several years and
39
00:02:14,290 --> 00:02:18,050
then I met Vanessa Gillett who's
my business partner.
40
00:02:18,050 --> 00:02:21,410
We were both doing pro bono
financial planning for Santa
41
00:02:21,410 --> 00:02:25,810
Rosa fire victims back in 2019.
As we got to know each other
42
00:02:25,810 --> 00:02:28,690
over the course of a year or so,
we realized that we were very
43
00:02:28,690 --> 00:02:31,930
like minded and.
In terms of our passion for ESG
44
00:02:32,130 --> 00:02:35,610
and our interest in financial
planning and what that does for
45
00:02:35,610 --> 00:02:39,170
our clients, so went from
McGuire Wealth Management to a
46
00:02:39,170 --> 00:02:43,690
firm that we Co founded in 2020
just before COVID terribly
47
00:02:43,690 --> 00:02:47,490
Wealth management and our focus
is exclusively on ESG
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00:02:47,490 --> 00:02:51,770
investments and we're very heavy
on the financial planning side.
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00:02:51,770 --> 00:02:56,250
So it's worked out really well
far beyond my expectations.
50
00:02:56,250 --> 00:02:59,810
It just happened that the Airbnb
Ipo's were happening.
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00:03:00,090 --> 00:03:03,050
As is a millennial, she
resonates very well with the
52
00:03:03,050 --> 00:03:06,810
millennial population.
And so she became very talked
53
00:03:06,810 --> 00:03:09,010
about in the bulletin boards,
shall we say with the tech
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00:03:09,010 --> 00:03:11,450
sector and executives in the
tech sector.
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00:03:11,450 --> 00:03:15,610
So terribly took off in spite of
COVID, it actually worked to our
56
00:03:15,610 --> 00:03:18,450
advantage.
I hate to say that, but to not
57
00:03:18,450 --> 00:03:22,890
have to meet in person with the
volume of new business coming in
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00:03:22,970 --> 00:03:26,250
made it possible to keep up,
shall we say, with just starting
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00:03:26,250 --> 00:03:29,570
out.
My background has been financial
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00:03:29,570 --> 00:03:32,570
planning.
First, investment management as
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00:03:32,770 --> 00:03:34,890
outcome of the financial
planning.
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00:03:35,130 --> 00:03:37,890
I can't possibly design A
portfolio without knowing
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00:03:37,890 --> 00:03:41,810
everything about my clients
before I make a recommendation.
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00:03:41,890 --> 00:03:46,170
And a lot of my clients are
social justice oriented in my
65
00:03:46,170 --> 00:03:48,810
age group.
So civil rights activists, you
66
00:03:48,810 --> 00:03:51,480
know?
Going back to the 60s, that type
67
00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,560
of thing.
But there's also in my age group
68
00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,520
and older people who either
their parents or in some cases
69
00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,640
even themselves, are influenced
by the Great Depression.
70
00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:06,640
So for them, thinking about
financial security is more about
71
00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:11,240
accumulation, more is better,
and that's understandable given
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00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,480
the scarcity that they
experienced or their parents
73
00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:16,880
experienced.
I myself didn't really
74
00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,480
understand what financial
security was.
75
00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,000
Until I entered this profession.
As I started to learn about it,
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00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,040
I came from a blue collar family
and I was really interested in
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00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,320
how people achieve financial
security.
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00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,960
And it didn't take long for me
to realize that it had very
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00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,000
little, if anything, to do with
how much money a person have.
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00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,880
Yeah, because I work with
clients who live on what I
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00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,160
consider very meager means, and
they're financially secure
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00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,200
because they don't have a flashy
lifestyle.
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00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,440
They're content within means.
I have another client.
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00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:55,040
For 20 some years, who's a
lovely lady and she has $20,000
85
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,000
of income a month that she does
not have to work for, does not
86
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,280
have a mortgage and she has to
be on a budget.
87
00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:05,640
So financial security for her is
almost not achievable because
88
00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,520
the money is trying to fill a
void that you know they can't
89
00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:10,520
fill.
So I'm really interested in
90
00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,840
sufficiency and experience of
sufficiency.
91
00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,320
And that's really when I work
with a client.
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00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,440
I really want that person to
understand that.
93
00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:22,360
Financially secure by
understanding their investments
94
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,600
and understanding the role of
the investments in their life
95
00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,360
and their life choices.
So that all fits very well.
96
00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:31,760
The millennial group that
Vanessa tends to work with is so
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00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,440
beautiful because they don't
have that Depression era mindset
98
00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,320
and many of them have come into
tremendous wealth early in life
99
00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:44,400
and they don't feel like they
have to show it off or
100
00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,160
accumulate more.
They're actually, there's a huge
101
00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:49,120
movement within that generation
of.
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00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:54,480
To one, make sure their work has
purpose, but also their money
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00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,640
and their capital and what it's
doing has a greater purpose.
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00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,520
So it's not about accumulating
for the sake of accumulating,
105
00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,600
it's for having an impact and
being very deliberate about that
106
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,800
impact.
So it's really a privilege to
107
00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,840
speak with this generation about
money from that perspective.
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00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:14,120
In that context, it's just it's
really wonderful, amazing.
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00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,240
So now what got you so
interested and passionate about
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00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,800
ESG in the first place that you
would want to found a company
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00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:24,360
that does nothing but ESG
Investments?
112
00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,840
Well, I come from the nonprofit
sector before I became a
113
00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:30,840
financial planner, and I worked
for an organization that was
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00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:34,600
going to end world hunger by the
year 2000.
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00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,040
That didn't happen, but we did
bring relief organizations
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00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,120
together to start thinking
proactively instead of just
117
00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,320
crisis management around world
hunger.
118
00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,280
And again, it goes back to that
sufficiency that there is enough
119
00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:49,480
to go around and we just need
to.
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00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:51,840
Think in terms of taking care of
everyone.
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00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:56,960
And so my background has been
more in terms of, again, what's
122
00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,080
it going to take for people to
feel safe and secure in this
123
00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:01,520
world?
Because I think that would do a
124
00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,560
lot more than weaponry for
peace.
125
00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:09,600
And that's the big picture.
But I also came to realize that
126
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,360
where there's money, there's
power, there's influence.
127
00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,160
So the more I understood
capitalism and how it worked,
128
00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,680
and the political structure and
how it worked, the more I
129
00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,360
understood that.
The degree to which we can move
130
00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,600
capital in the right direction
and have a voice with our
131
00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,280
investments, and not only
probably more significantly how
132
00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,240
we spend our money, but
certainly how we invest our
133
00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,560
money now. 20 years ago, it was
started from the religious
134
00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:38,200
organizations wanting to do no
harm.
135
00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:42,840
So no alcohol, no tobacco.
It has grown significantly since
136
00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,320
then and I can assure you, back
20 years ago at the Conferences
137
00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,360
for Socially Responsible
Investing, there was plenty of.
138
00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,640
Alcohol going around.
So that wasn't really the screen
139
00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:56,040
you're concerned about.
But certainly the environment
140
00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,880
and social issues have risen.
And at that time, 20 years ago,
141
00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:03,480
we did not have research to say,
you know, this is not going to
142
00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,400
hurt performance because I had a
smaller realm of investments to
143
00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,800
choose from.
It was more exclusionary.
144
00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,960
You try to avoid the bad guys.
It was a much more challenging
145
00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:15,320
endeavor.
And I really had to say to a
146
00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:19,280
client in those days, I don't
know that I can.
147
00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,080
Match the indexes with your
portfolio or you will do you
148
00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,240
want to have your values
represented in your portfolio
149
00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,240
and it may be at the expense of
performance and some people
150
00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,920
would say yes.
Again we're talking to Greshan
151
00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,640
era investors, so not so much
but sometimes they would say I
152
00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,799
care more about having my values
represent I'm one of my clients.
153
00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:44,560
I just love her dearly.
She had very meager means and
154
00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:47,720
and I actually said to her, you
know, I think that we need to do
155
00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,320
something very careful here for.
You in terms of guarantees and I
156
00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,080
I don't have a socially
responsible way of doing this.
157
00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,960
And she said, why should I be
secure when people are hungry in
158
00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,560
the world?
So I learned from my clients
159
00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,760
that was, you know, she
literally did not see her needs
160
00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:09,280
as being more important than the
person in Africa trying to carry
161
00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,800
water to the family.
And she has held to that value
162
00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:14,400
in all the years I've worked
with her.
163
00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:17,880
Yeah, I think that's a lot of
people will say, OK, I care very
164
00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,760
much about nonprofits, good
about charity.
165
00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,600
And so they will give money or
they'll donate as part of maybe
166
00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:26,880
it's a tax exclusion or
something like that.
167
00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,960
But they don't necessarily think
that it is a longterm strategy
168
00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,280
for them to retire on.
They might have a bit of
169
00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:38,040
skepticism about whether or not
that is actually fiduciarily
170
00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,520
responsible or a way to get the
kind of growth and the goals
171
00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,360
that they want in order to
retire comfortably.
172
00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:45,920
What would you say to people
like that?
173
00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:48,360
OK.
So Fast forward to today, from
174
00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,240
that era and you'll.
Will find that not only does it
175
00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,920
make sense from a fiduciary
standpoint, but in fact it's
176
00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,000
possibly neglect on your part to
not take climate change for
177
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,680
example into account.
So we've seen evidence of it in
178
00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:07,360
terms of during COVID.
The companies that treated their
179
00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:11,080
employees well are the companies
that's you know for the most
180
00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,600
part did well.
The companies who made their
181
00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,040
employees work when they were
sick got into big trouble.
182
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,720
Reputational risk.
Wells Fargo is an example
183
00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:21,640
Volkswagen.
Intending to do the right thing.
184
00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:26,760
So to the degree that we are
holding companies accountable
185
00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,600
and more and more we are to do
the right thing by their
186
00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,840
community, by their employees is
a degree to which you have less
187
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:40,480
risk exposure really to climate
change, to reputational risk, It
188
00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,280
just makes sense.
A company that is taking care of
189
00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,320
the larger community and not
just the CEO tends to be a more
190
00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,400
well run company.
So that.
191
00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:52,160
Said will it outperform at all
times?
192
00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:56,680
Not necessarily, if you're not
doing traditional energy stocks.
193
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,000
The recent history is a good
example.
194
00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:05,520
Yeah, Prior to 2022, not having
exposure to all of the oil
195
00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,080
stocks that are in the index
worked well in our favorite
196
00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,680
those stocks were really
depressed.
197
00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,400
Then the COVID hits.
Oil and gas companies have an
198
00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,520
opportunity to raise prices and
increase their profits hugely.
199
00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:22,600
Essentially, significantly.
And now it's somewhat of a
200
00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:26,800
disadvantage to be less exposed
to the energy sector.
201
00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,200
So there's always going to be
shortterm periods of time where
202
00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:35,320
the ESG focus may be somewhat to
an advantage or to a
203
00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:40,080
disadvantage of the whole
concept to ESG, which we, you
204
00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:42,800
know, spoke to 20 years earlier
but we couldn't prove.
205
00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:47,160
Now we have evidence for a lot
of research showing that having
206
00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,320
a perspective that is based on
the.
207
00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:55,000
Longterm outcome rather than
shareholder returns quarter by
208
00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,040
quarter.
If you just think about running
209
00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,920
a household based on what
happened this quarter, next
210
00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:01,640
square, you know, do we have
enough money in?
211
00:12:02,230 --> 00:12:04,030
Oh, we can go to Disneyland.
We have money now.
212
00:12:05,390 --> 00:12:07,670
That's just not how you run a
company.
213
00:12:07,870 --> 00:12:10,590
You need to be thinking in terms
of both.
214
00:12:10,590 --> 00:12:13,590
We have turnover that is
expensive.
215
00:12:13,630 --> 00:12:17,510
It takes a lot of resources to
bring in new employees, so we
216
00:12:17,510 --> 00:12:19,350
better take care of the
employees we have.
217
00:12:19,470 --> 00:12:23,710
That may not show up and from
1/4 to the next, but long term
218
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it does show up.
Likewise, if you're taking into
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account the toxic waste the
impact is having on your
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community and what can we do to
make sure?
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Or it isn't harming the drinking
water for our town.
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That may not show up quarter to
quarter, but eventually it
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catches up with you and you end
up having to pay for your cents
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if you're not paying attention.
Yeah, I was going to say like
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recently with the, you know,
financial upset that we've had
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and a lot of people
unfortunately are pointing to
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Silicon Valley Bank as being an
example of, well, you know, they
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put all their eggs in their
basket and DEI and ESG and look
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what happened.
It was risky.
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So a lot of people are using
that almost to scapegoat the
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fact that, you know, maybe ESG
isn't where you want to put your
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money.
What would you say to that?
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You know, I think it's a
compliment that there is so much
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pushback to ESG and it's because
we're having an impact, we're
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making a difference.
We're putting pressure on CEO's.
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They do not like having their
compensation looked at.
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They do not like having to be
held accountable for the impact
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they're having on the
environment or how they're
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treating their employees.
So it's like so much else people
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understand.
And that just accumulating
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profit for the sake of
accumulating profit isn't going
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to cut it in the long run.
And people want to have money
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deployed in a way that is more
fair to everyone and not just to
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the 1%.
Now the media is fed, mainstream
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media is fed by that 1%.
So we don't get that
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perspective.
What we get is distractions and
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stories.
I mean to say that Silicon
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Valley Bank went under because
they were so focused on DEI that
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they.
Shows a total misinterpretation
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and lack of understanding of how
banks work and what went into.
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It's much more technical and and
just an understanding of taking,
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having longterm money invested
and then people wanting their
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money all at once with bonds.
I mean it has nothing to do with
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00:14:20,550 --> 00:14:23,510
DEI, but you know it's an
interesting distraction.
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It's an easier way to talk about
it, even the way we measure our
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economy.
If you think about it, GDP,
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gross domestic product, that's
based on consumer.
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Terrorism, that's all it's based
on.
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00:14:33,790 --> 00:14:37,510
So, and we're only doing well if
we keep spending more money and
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we keep consuming more money.
Ultimately, is that really a
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measure of how our economy is
doing when so many people are
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going hungry?
When we have the highest infant
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mortality rate of any developed
country, how can it possibly be
264
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a measure of the wealth of our
country and the health of our
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00:14:54,350 --> 00:14:57,430
economy?
So well after the Depression we
266
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had something called democratic
capitalism, where the role of
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00:15:01,110 --> 00:15:04,150
the government was.
To provide a safety net as well
268
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as a healthy economy and
opportunity for the
269
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entrepreneurs and the risk
takers.
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And it worked really well.
But in the 1980s it became more
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of a focus of less government,
more profits, and less control
272
00:15:18,750 --> 00:15:22,430
of the media than could you
imagine today, trying to make a
273
00:15:22,430 --> 00:15:26,230
case for tobacco and smoking
being dangerous to your health.
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You could not do it because
there's no regulation around
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truth versus lies with the FTC.
It's much easier to create
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00:15:34,350 --> 00:15:37,470
distraction, but really we look
around and we see the
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homelessness on the street, so
we know that so many people can
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be doing so well, making so much
money when so many people are
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suffering.
This is not a healthy economy.
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00:15:48,590 --> 00:15:52,710
Let's switch gears and talk
about the kind of clients that
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are attracted to you talked
about, you know depression era,
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00:15:55,870 --> 00:15:58,630
you talked about millennials,
but you offer a number of
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00:15:58,630 --> 00:16:01,790
different services, not just
like longterm financial wealth
284
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management.
Who would you say is your ideal
285
00:16:04,510 --> 00:16:07,310
client?
Our ideal client and we're tend
286
00:16:07,310 --> 00:16:10,590
to be drawn to us, our clients
who are concerned about the
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00:16:10,590 --> 00:16:15,350
longterm impact of their
spending, their activities,
288
00:16:15,350 --> 00:16:19,310
their investments as well.
And so we're not imposing
289
00:16:19,310 --> 00:16:20,910
something, it's just a belief
system.
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00:16:20,910 --> 00:16:24,190
It's an understanding that we're
part of a bigger picture and we
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00:16:24,190 --> 00:16:27,390
want to make a contribution or
we certainly don't want to being
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harmful to the environment or to
people in third world countries
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who are.
Suppliers to the companies that
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we work with.
We want to have a voice in how
295
00:16:36,350 --> 00:16:40,110
our money is deployed.
We also like working with people
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and people are drawn to us who
want to understand their
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finances, not just be told what
to do.
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But they're lifelong learners
like we are and aware of their
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choices and how the decisions
that people make today have
300
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tremendous impact on where, what
the opportunities will be for
301
00:16:56,750 --> 00:16:59,310
them when they're 20 years from
now, 30 years from now.
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00:16:59,350 --> 00:17:04,910
So ongoing conversations that.
Are deep and meaningful and take
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00:17:04,910 --> 00:17:08,790
into account both the very
personal needs of a person, but
304
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also how that fits in with the
larger picture.
305
00:17:11,470 --> 00:17:13,230
OK.
And then in terms of the
306
00:17:13,790 --> 00:17:17,829
companies and the types of
portfolios that you bring on,
307
00:17:17,829 --> 00:17:20,470
how are they vetted?
Do you have another company or
308
00:17:20,470 --> 00:17:23,790
set of companies that actually
go in and look and evaluate
309
00:17:23,790 --> 00:17:26,950
these companies based upon a
specific set of criteria?
310
00:17:26,950 --> 00:17:29,830
Are there different ones for
different packages of
311
00:17:29,830 --> 00:17:31,590
portfolios?
Can you tell us a little bit
312
00:17:31,590 --> 00:17:32,910
about that?
Great question.
313
00:17:32,950 --> 00:17:37,230
Yes, we do not do stock picking.
We have someone on our team that
314
00:17:37,230 --> 00:17:41,310
does do stock picking and does
that through the ESG lens, but
315
00:17:41,310 --> 00:17:45,270
that's because he's a specialist
in option trading and for a few
316
00:17:45,270 --> 00:17:47,230
people that's an appropriate
fit.
317
00:17:47,390 --> 00:17:51,270
Otherwise we work with EFT
managers and mutual fund
318
00:17:51,270 --> 00:17:54,630
managers and they're, as most
people know, there's a lot of
319
00:17:54,630 --> 00:17:57,710
what's called greenwashing going
on where people say that they're
320
00:17:57,790 --> 00:18:01,070
ESG, but it's a marketing
technique and does not mean
321
00:18:01,070 --> 00:18:03,990
they're necessarily.
Doing anything with regard to
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00:18:03,990 --> 00:18:08,110
ESG are very little.
I could give examples, but what
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00:18:08,110 --> 00:18:10,430
we do is we have a very strict
criteria.
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00:18:10,430 --> 00:18:14,550
We do don't work with any fund
manager that isn't doing
325
00:18:14,550 --> 00:18:17,910
shareholder activism because
that's really where the impact
326
00:18:17,910 --> 00:18:22,470
is, is where you take the many
dollars that all the investors
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00:18:22,470 --> 00:18:26,470
together gives you a seat at the
table where you can say, hey, we
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want you to measure how you're
doing in terms of your carbon
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footprint and gender equality
and.
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00:18:32,510 --> 00:18:35,390
As they say, what gets measured
gets managed.
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So they may not measure up in
every you know in every regard,
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but we can hold them accountable
and try to move the needle a
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little bit.
Then we also use a lot of
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00:18:44,950 --> 00:18:49,430
research around the impact and
we can actually measure exactly
335
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how much of our dollars are
exposed to private prison
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industry of an example we
discovered we had a lot more
337
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exposure to that than we wanted
and when we looked into it also
338
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with palm oil and then we.
That well for example with the
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00:19:04,270 --> 00:19:08,470
prison industry is very hard to
not have exposure if you take
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into account that they're
feeding the prisoners and if we
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invest in a company that
provides the food for the
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00:19:14,230 --> 00:19:18,150
prisoners or the phone contact
are we you know indirectly we're
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00:19:18,150 --> 00:19:21,710
participating in the private
prison industry but and then we
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00:19:21,710 --> 00:19:24,990
came away and decided that's
acceptable we want prisoners to
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have good food.
So.
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But so nothing is in the
research is still somewhat
347
00:19:30,390 --> 00:19:33,910
nascent, and there's some.
Agreement research in both in
348
00:19:33,910 --> 00:19:36,910
terms of impact that you're
having and how you're measuring
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that as well as what's called
exclusionary.
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You know, companies that are not
doing harm an imprecise science,
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00:19:43,990 --> 00:19:47,830
but it's something that we keep
working on and keep improving
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and there's more and more
research becoming available in
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Europe is way ahead of us.
They have much higher standards
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for accountability than we have
in this country.
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So can you identify some of your
favorite companies that might be
356
00:20:00,990 --> 00:20:03,790
like outstanding within?
Portfolios that you say, Oh, I
357
00:20:03,790 --> 00:20:05,910
see them across a number of
different.
358
00:20:05,950 --> 00:20:08,110
Are you asking about individual?
Yeah.
359
00:20:08,510 --> 00:20:12,190
These are the fund managers,
wealth companies I think to
360
00:20:12,190 --> 00:20:13,470
start.
Well.
361
00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,720
What's most intriguing to me
right now, and I can't tell you
362
00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:19,320
exactly what the companies are,
but I know that with
363
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,240
infrastructure, Bill, that it
has opened up tremendous
364
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,800
opportunities around
environmental impact,
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00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,560
innovation.
And as you can imagine, there's
366
00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:33,200
a lot going on in that regard.
But now there's funding for it
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00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:35,640
and it's huge.
And so there are companies that
368
00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,520
have been starting out, they're
not just starting, they've been
369
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,240
doing this work for a while, but
now they have funding to take it
370
00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:43,760
to the next level.
So I really want to.
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Learn more about what those
which companies they are.
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00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:51,320
But we work with Lord Abbott and
their bond fund exclusively.
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It is not just avoiding the oil
companies, but looking to the
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00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,640
companies that are doing,
reversing carbon footprint and
375
00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:02,160
catching up with what they're
doing in Europe really.
376
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,240
And Europe is also then seeing
us take the lead with the
377
00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,320
infrastructure bill.
They're also upping their ante.
378
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,600
And so there's the opportunities
abroad as well.
379
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,560
So that's the sector that I'm
most excited about at this
380
00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,160
point.
Me apparently and B does a
381
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,800
fabulous job of treating their
employees well.
382
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,720
I know they get bad press with
the party scene and all of that,
383
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,880
but they really do.
I mean during COVID they made
384
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:30,480
housing available to people.
They offer all benefits to their
385
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,240
employees that above and beyond
what you see in most companies.
386
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,840
So they bring an example.
An example?
387
00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,840
What has surprised you most
since you've opened your doors?
388
00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:43,320
Since we switched to.
Terrible versus McGuire Wealth
389
00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,280
Management.
I think the demand for what we
390
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,720
do, the fact that I mean it is
become very, very popular as
391
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,840
they say to the point where
there's greenwashing that wasn't
392
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,440
quite as robust in 2019 when we
started.
393
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:01,560
So I'm surprised.
And also as I say the, I want to
394
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,520
say magnanimity word, I don't
use very often, but I'm the
395
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,400
millennial generation, their
understanding, their leadership,
396
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:14,150
their clarity is so inspiring.
I have to agree absolutely.
397
00:22:14,230 --> 00:22:18,030
Now you decided to certify Tara
Blue as a B Corp, Can you tell
398
00:22:18,030 --> 00:22:19,470
us a little bit about that
decision?
399
00:22:19,670 --> 00:22:22,830
Sure, I learned about V Corpse,
I don't know, maybe 15 years
400
00:22:22,830 --> 00:22:25,190
ago.
And as when I had my own
401
00:22:25,230 --> 00:22:28,190
company, I didn't really have
the resources to go through that
402
00:22:28,190 --> 00:22:30,110
certification, but it was high
on the list.
403
00:22:30,150 --> 00:22:33,670
So when Vanessa and I joined
forces, within a year we started
404
00:22:33,670 --> 00:22:37,910
that application process.
And I really like to be in the
405
00:22:37,910 --> 00:22:41,110
company of other business owners
who share this.
406
00:22:41,230 --> 00:22:45,510
Vision, this sense of obligation
to the larger community and as
407
00:22:45,510 --> 00:22:48,790
rigorous as the process was to
become certified.
408
00:22:48,790 --> 00:22:50,790
I believe you're V certified as
well, right?
409
00:22:50,790 --> 00:22:54,950
So you're very familiar with it.
It was very time consuming, very
410
00:22:54,950 --> 00:23:00,470
demanding, but I was very
revealing as well because we, as
411
00:23:00,590 --> 00:23:04,350
every V Corp does, I think
strives to get the highest score
412
00:23:04,350 --> 00:23:06,950
possible.
Started out thinking we deserved
413
00:23:06,950 --> 00:23:08,790
a higher score that we actually
got.
414
00:23:09,590 --> 00:23:11,110
We're still in a very
respectable.
415
00:23:11,630 --> 00:23:17,190
Highest 17% of financial
services V corps score wise, but
416
00:23:17,190 --> 00:23:18,950
we know what we can do to
improve.
417
00:23:18,950 --> 00:23:23,030
So the continuous quality
improvement we can strive to do
418
00:23:23,030 --> 00:23:26,190
better and we're already doing
that and just working with other
419
00:23:26,190 --> 00:23:28,750
big corps has been really,
really fantastic.
420
00:23:28,950 --> 00:23:32,670
Yeah, when we're talking about
values minded business and for
421
00:23:32,670 --> 00:23:36,270
financial planning and for
wealth management it is, it's
422
00:23:36,270 --> 00:23:39,070
actually pretty extraordinary.
I don't think that there's very
423
00:23:39,070 --> 00:23:44,750
many of you that really are, you
know, in that place where the
424
00:23:44,750 --> 00:23:48,230
transparency, the value
proposition, the way that you're
425
00:23:48,230 --> 00:23:52,630
operating is really, you know,
very much involved in social as
426
00:23:52,630 --> 00:23:56,910
well as environmental impact.
And so, yeah, congratulations on
427
00:23:56,910 --> 00:23:58,590
that front.
I think part of that is the
428
00:23:58,590 --> 00:24:03,230
transition of thinking about
capitalism as being something
429
00:24:03,230 --> 00:24:06,390
other than for the very, very
wealthy and for the benefit of
430
00:24:06,390 --> 00:24:08,870
the very, very wealthy for
capitalism to work.
431
00:24:08,870 --> 00:24:11,070
But I think we really have to go
back to what it was we.
432
00:24:11,190 --> 00:24:16,030
Where the movement towards
deregulation occurred and where,
433
00:24:16,070 --> 00:24:18,270
I suppose it was born of the
Depression, where there was an
434
00:24:18,270 --> 00:24:22,190
understanding that social
capitalism is what works, where
435
00:24:22,190 --> 00:24:27,070
there is a an obligation beyond
the shareholders, it's Milton
436
00:24:27,070 --> 00:24:30,910
Friedman made a whole argument
in favor of those corporations
437
00:24:30,910 --> 00:24:33,190
exist only for the benefit of
the shareholders.
438
00:24:33,350 --> 00:24:36,190
I think we're bumping up against
the limits of that model.
439
00:24:37,190 --> 00:24:39,790
Really has to serve the larger
community for sure.
440
00:24:39,790 --> 00:24:43,950
Well, Maureen McGuire, cofounder
of Terra Blue Wealth Management,
441
00:24:43,950 --> 00:24:49,550
making the argument for going
all in on ESG for your wealth in
442
00:24:49,550 --> 00:24:52,110
the future.
And it does make good sense to
443
00:24:52,110 --> 00:24:54,710
put your money where the
sustainable business is.
444
00:24:54,710 --> 00:24:58,910
And if people and the planet are
prospering, then so can you.
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Thank you so much, Maureen, for
joining me today.
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Thank you so much for the
opportunity.
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00:25:03,310 --> 00:25:06,430
Thank you for listening to the
Human Beauty Movement podcast.
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00:25:06,470 --> 00:25:10,630
Be sure to follow, rate and
review us wherever you stream
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00:25:10,630 --> 00:25:12,790
podcasts.
The Human Beauty Movement is a
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00:25:12,790 --> 00:25:16,110
community based platform that
cultivates the beauty of
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00:25:16,110 --> 00:25:18,870
humankind.
Check out our workshops, find us
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on social media, and share our
inspiration with all the
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beautiful humans in your life.
Learn more at the Human
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beautymovement.com Thank you so
much for being a beautiful
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human.

















