Now On Demand • Accepted For 4 CFP / IWI / CFA CE Credits

Join us for the ESG Playbook designed exclusively for financial advisors. This online event will provide the latest research and insights on sustainable investing and key topics relevant for financial advisors. This interactive, live event will showcase relevant investment strategies, industry thought leaders and shifting trends in the ESG industry.

Agenda

12:00pm – 12:30pm ET
The Window to De-Risk Your Portfolio from Climate Change is Closing

Jeff Gitterman, Co-founding Partner, Gitterman Asset Management

  • Climate change is our most critical systemic challenge. If your portfolios don't already account for climate risk, it's time for a review. The world is heading towards a messy and expensive transition away from fossil fuels, as well as increasing physical risk from warming and extreme weather events. Jeff will explain how the SMART Climate UMA (Unified Managed Account) addresses physical and transition risks with the use of managers who utilize cutting edge climate science alongside boutique and emerging managers normally unavailable in a UMA format.
12:30pm – 1:00pm ET
ESG & Impact Investing: A Powerful New Business Strategy

Ken Haman, Managing Director, AllianceBernstein Advisor Institute

  • ESG investing and its underlying principles provide powerful tools and opportunities for advisors to deepen their relationships with affluent clients who want to make a difference with their capital. This session will provide the context for why the ESG “big picture” mindset is changing within the investing culture, and the guidance for introducing impact investing to your relationships, both old & new.
1:00pm – 1:30pm ET
ESG Trends to Watch in 2021

Linda-Eling Lee, Global Head of ESG Research, MSCI
Interviewed by: Leslie Norton, Senior Writer, Barron's

  • Following a year where the pandemic and climate change changed the conversation for many investors, 2021 will offer a new set of challenges for investors. From dealing with the hard limits of decarbonizing their portfolios, evaluating how the vast amount of inflows going into ESG investments affects asset pricing, or understanding how habitat loss can lead to a pandemic, driving a new focus on biodiversity. Join Leslie Norton of Barron's and Linda-Eling Lee of MSCI to discuss the ESG trends to watch for the year ahead.
1:30pm – 2:00pm ET
The Case for Impact: Building a More Resilient Advisory Practice

Brett Wayman, VP, Impact Investing, Envestnet

  • ESG portfolios aim to provide better outcomes coupled with an alignment with client goals and investment intentions. Client discussions on these intentions and the potential impacts of their portfolios not only helps to solidify client relationships, but it helps you to understand and engage with them like never before. Learn how ESG investing can create a mutual and compelling business opportunity for your advisory business, and how Envestnet can help you to do that.
2:00pm – 2:30pm ET
Essentials of Impact Investing Success: Ready-Made Solutions for Clients

Mary Green, Vice President, Client Portfolio Manager, Federated Hermes
Kiley Miller, Associate Portfolio Manager, Impact Portfolios, Envestnet

  • Decisions around investing with impact can be deeply personal for clients. Understanding the essential elements to building successful ESG portfolios that may show measurable impacts while providing meaningful investment outcomes is critical. Ready-made solutions derived from extensive research and experience often provide the comprehensive approach your clients may be seeking.
2:30pm – 3:00pm ET
The Integration of ESG Data in Active Management

Geeta Aiyer, President & Founder, Boston Common Asset Management
Karina Funk, Portfolio Manager, Chair of Sustainable Investing, Brown Advisory

  • An active approach to ESG investing allows managers flexibility to align with various philosophies, themes, and trends. Customized research and a fundamental approach to portfolio management can lead to better outcomes. This session will provide a discussion around active ESG management and the importance of proxy voting and investor engagement. Speakers will further discuss data integration, investor collaboration, and impact measurement.
3:00pm – 3:30pm ET
Practitioner Perspectives on ESG & Performance

Todd Ahlsten, Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager, Parnassus

  • Uncovering companies with positive ESG profiles that are also good investments isn’t always easy. Insights from Todd Ahlsten’s 20 years as a portfolio manager for the Parnassus Core Equity Fund will highlight how ESG analysis helps to identify high-quality companies as well as potential risks.
3:30pm – 4:00pm ET
Sustainable Investing: Navigating Risk & Uncovering Alpha in Fixed Income

James Rich, Senior Portfolio Manager, Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC
Patrick Gustafson, National Sales Director, Transamerica

  • Sustainability challenges surround us. From climate change to rising social instability, sustainability issues are reshaping the global economy. As sustainability initiatives accelerate, what are the implications for fixed income investors? In this presentation, speakers will explore how fixed income investors can navigate risks and opportunities associated with the secular shift toward sustainability.

Speakers

Todd Ahlsten

Todd Ahlsten

Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager

Parnassus

Todd Ahlsten is the Chief Investment Officer and lead Portfolio Manager of the Parnassus Core Equity Fund. Mr. Ahlsten has responsibility for portfolio management for the firm’s Core Equity strategy. He also oversees all of the firm’s strategies, including mentoring investment staff, managing investment risk and acting as final arbiter on ESG decisions. He joined Parnassus Investments in 1995 as a Research Analyst after serving as a Parnassus research intern. In 1998, Mr. Ahlsten was promoted to Director of Research and subsequently became Portfolio Manager of the Parnassus Core Equity Fund in 2001. He became Chief Investment Officer in 2008. Mr. Ahlsten received his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley with an emphasis in finance and accounting.

Geeta Aiyer

Geeta Aiyer

President & Founder

Boston Common Asset Management

Geeta Aiyer combines over 30 years of experience in finance, with passion for environmental and social justice. Under her leadership, Boston Common has built a strong investment record, and meaningfully improved the policies and practices of portfolio companies through impactful, proactive Shareowner Engagement. The firm is a “Best for the World” honoree within the global B Corp community.

In 2016, Geeta was honored by Investment News, as an Innovator whose new ideas and tools have propelled the industry forward. The 2017 UN Global Compact Report on Business Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) featured Geeta as a leader in the financial sector. Geeta is the recipient of the Joan Bavaria Award at the CERES conference in 2015 for Building Sustainability into the Capital Markets and the SRI Service Award (2013), recognizing leadership and innovation in SRI (Sustainable, Responsible, Impact) investing.

Before Boston Common, Geeta was President of Walden Asset Management, and has worked at US Trust Company (Boston) and Cambridge Associates. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School; BA (Hons) and MA degrees from the University of Delhi, India. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Geeta serves on the Board and Investment Committee of NRDC. She is also on the board of the Better Future Project in Massachusetts. She is co-founder and board chair of DAWN Worldwide, an NGO addressing gender-based violence. Geeta has previously served on the boards of the Sierra Club Foundation, and YW Boston. From 2015-2017, she served on the Board of UN PRI.

Karina Funk

Karina Funk

Portfolio Manager, Chair of Sustainable Investing

Brown Advisory

Karina is a partner and co-portfolio manager of the Brown Advisory Large-Cap Sustainable Growth strategy (LCSG) and chair of sustainable investing. Karina joined Brown Advisory in 2009 and has extensive investment experience spanning early-stage ventures to debt and public equities. Karina is a respected leader in the investment community having been profiled in many leading financial publications, including Barron’s inaugural list of 100 Most Influential Women in Finance. She and co-portfolio manager David Powell have developed a distinctive fundamental research methodology focused on finding companies at the intersection of positive fundamental and sustainable business drivers. Karina was previously an equity research analyst for Winslow Management Co, a principal at Charles River Ventures, and an investment manager at the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust.

Jeff Gitterman

Jeff Gitterman

Co-Founding Partner

Gitterman Asset Management

Jeff Gitterman is a widely recognized leader in the ESG and sustainable investing field, and the creator of SMART (Sustainability Metrics Applied to Risk Tolerance)® Investing Solutions, a suite of global climate-aware allocation strategies available to financial advisory firms and individual investors.

With over 30 years of experience as a financial advisor, Jeff began realigning Gitterman Wealth Management towards sustainable investing in 2015.  In 2020, the firm launched the Gitterman Asset Management brand to house its rapidly expanding ESG investment strategies, thought leadership, and practice management offerings for the financial advisor and institutional markets.

Jeff is also the co-host of TheIMPACT TV show, which airs on fintech.tv and Bloomberg TV, and was named RIA “Thought Leader of the Year” by WealthManagement.com in 2018.

For more information, please visit www.GittermanAsset.com

Mary Green

Mary Green

Vice President, Client Portfolio Manager

Federated Hermes

Mary Green joined Federated Hermes in 2019 as a vice president and a client portfolio manager focused on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investing.

Mary has more than 25 years of investment experience and is primarily responsible for interaction with clients and consultants with regard to the Hermes Investment Management Limited products. Prior to joining Federated Hermes International in London, Mary was a portfolio strategist at GE Asset Management (acquired by State Street Global Advisors), and a managing director/client portfolio manager at Bear Stearns Asset Management.

Mary received a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language and an MBA from Dartmouth College.

Patrick Gustafson

Patrick Gustafson

National Sales Director

Transamerica

Patrick Gustafson joined Transamerica in 2008, bringing more than 30 years of financial services experience. Prior to starting his career, Patrick earned his bachelor’s degree, with honors, in finance and mathematics from St. Cloud State University. He is also a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® and holds other industry licenses and state insurance designations Patrick and his wife of over 25 years live in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is an avid outdoorsman and golfer who enjoys time on the lake and in the woods.

Ken Haman

Ken Haman

Managing Director

AllianceBernstein Advisor Institute

Ken Haman is the Managing Director of the AB Advisor Institute. He joined the firm in 2005 from a private consulting practice to the financial-services industry. In his current position, Haman develops and delivers consulting and training to financial advisors and key leaders at AB’s partner firms, specifically in the areas of strategic marketing, effective communication with clients and practice-management strategies. His professional experience includes managing a practice in psychotherapy for 20 years in the Washington, DC, area and a consulting practice to large organizations, financial professionals and senior executives in the Mid-Atlantic states. Haman holds a BA in business administration from Lebanon Valley College; an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary; an MAPC from Moravian College; and certifications in clinical hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming from the American Hypnosis Training Academy.

Linda-Eling Lee

Linda-Eling Lee

Global Head of ESG Research

MSCI

As Global Head of Research for MSCI's ESG Research group, Linda-Eling Lee oversees all ESG- and Climate-related content and methodology. MSCI ESG Research is the largest provider of ESG Rating and analytics to global institutional investors. Linda leads one of the largest teams of research analysts in the world who are dedicated to identifying risks and opportunities arising from material ESG issues. She and her team have been widely recognized as the best SRI/ESG researchers by market surveys and awards.

Linda joined MSCI in 2010 following the acquisition of RiskMetrics, where she led ESG ratings research and was head of consumer sector analysis. Linda joined RiskMetrics Group in 2009 through the acquisition of Innovest. Prior to joining Innovest, Linda was the Research Director at the Center for Research on Corporate Performance, developing academic research at Harvard Business School into management tools to drive long-term corporate performance. Previously, she was a strategy consultant with Monitor Group in Europe and in Asia, where she worked with Fortune 500 clients in industries ranging from beverages to telecommunications.

Linda received her AB from Harvard, MSt from Oxford, and PhD in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University.

Linda has published research in both management and investment practitioner journals as well as in top academic peer-reviewed journals. Linda was named a Top 100 Women in Finance by Barron's in 2019 and voted #1 for an Individual Making the Most Positive Overall Contribution to Sustainable Investment / Corporate Governance in 2018 and 2019 by Extel/IRRI. She is a frequent media commentator on ESG topics and sustainable investing in outlets including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the New York Times.

Kiley Miller

Kiley Miller

Associate Portfolio Manager, Impact Portfolios

Envestnet

Kiley serves as an Associate Portfolio Manager at Envestnet I PMC. She is a member of the Enterprise Portfolio Solutions team and is responsible for asset allocation, manager selection, research due diligence, and portfolio administration for PMC’s impact portfolios, designed for investors with environmental and social impact interests or priorities. She also helps lead Envestnet’s Impact Investing platform and capabilities more broadly.

Prior to joining PMC in 2019, Kiley was a senior client advisor at Sustainalytics, an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) research, ratings and analytics firm. There she supported U.S. asset managers to integrate ESG research into the investment process.

Kiley holds a Master of Science degree in Sustainability Management from Columbia University. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Sustainability with a double minor in Business and Environmental Economics & Law from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Kiley is a CFA Level III Candidate.

Leslie Norton

Leslie Norton

Senior Writer

Barron's

Leslie P. Norton is a senior writer with Barron's, and has also served as mutual funds editor, Asia editor, and a columnist. Prior to joining Barron’s in 1993, she worked for an investment manager and helped launch the London bureau of Bloomberg News.

James Rich

James Rich

Senior Portfolio Manager

Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC

James Rich is a senior portfolio manager on the Sustainable Fixed Income strategy and a member of the Sustainable Investment Committee. He was a key architect of the Sustainable Fixed Income strategy and led the establishment of the sustainability framework that is used to set the eligible investment universe. Leveraging his portfolio management and deep credit experience, James combines a passion for sustainable investing with fixed income expertise and ESG integration insights to manage the strategy and help the firm develop other ESG/sustainability-focused fixed income strategies.

He is also a senior portfolio manager on the Credit Opportunities strategies. James applies his bankruptcy and restructuring expertise to the firm’s exposure to global stressed, distressed and special situation securities. Prior to his current role, he worked in private equity at Madison Dearborn Partners and in private equity and investment banking at Morgan Stanley. James has been in the industry since 2003 and started with the firm in 2008. He received his Sc.B. from Brown University and his MBA with Distinction from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. James maintains his Series 3 registration with the National Futures Association.

Brett Wayman

Brett Wayman

VP, Impact Investing

Envestnet

Brett Wayman serves as Vice President, Impact Investing, and is responsible for overseeing Envestnet’s impact investing solutions and educating enterprise home offices and advisors on the impact investing tools and strategies available through the Envestnet platform. Prior to joining Envestnet, he spent 10 years in leadership roles with family offices in New York, Princeton, and Atlanta. Brett has a degree in economics from Emory University.

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This is an online event, and registration is complimentary for financial advisors.
Now On Demand • Accepted For 4 CFP / IWI / CFA CE Credits

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