Date:  November 28th, 2017

In this webinar, participants will hear from Anil Rao (MSCI), Don Gould (Pitzer College, Gould Asset Management), and Alex Bernhardt (Mercer) as they give an overview of passive ESG strategies and trends in the space, and explore Pitzer College’s recent founding investment in a new fund developed by BlackRock with assistance from leading index provider MSCI and investment consulting firm Mercer. The fund uses a disciplined, quantitative approach to incorporate ESG factors in its portfolio construction while maintaining zero exposure to fossil fuel companies.

“Many college and university boards have resisted divestment or ESG-related goals, believing they are hard to implement and may hurt endowment performance,” said Donald Gould, vice chair of the Pitzer College Board of Trustees and chair of the Board’s investment committee. “Our experience at Pitzer shows that with some creativity, even a smaller endowment can put in place innovative investment structures to achieve its Responsible Investment goals while staying true to the Board’s fiduciary obligations.”

Presenters:

• Anil Rao, Executive Director, Equity Applied Research, MSCI
• Donald Gould, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees & Chair of the Investment Committee, Pitzer College, and President & Chief Investment Officer, Gould Asset Management
• Moderator: Alex Bernhardt, Principal & US Responsible Investment Leader, Mercer