Screened Investment Compliance

 

Investing with a social lens contributes greatly to the market landscape. Investors seeking environmental, social and governance ("ESG") screens or wanting to focus on socially-responsible investing ("SRI") or "impact" investments now have more choices than ever.

 

Notwithstanding the existence of mutual funds providing screened investment alternatives for over 30 years, the SEC has recently stepped up its inspection of investment advisers to include questions relating to how the adviser determines that a certain investment qualifies as being what the adviser has represented it to be to the client. We help advisers craft appropriate regulatory disclosure language.

 

Given our 30 years of experience in the screened investment sector, we can help educate in-house compliance and other personnel. We can also act as a buffer between the adviser and the SEC's inspection staff as the SEC seeks to better understand this sector as it becomes more "mainstream," and once-"traditional" financial services providers are looking to add these services pursuant to client demand.

 

We can also provide counsel to investors such as family offices, as well as institutional investors of all types, with respect to questions they might have when putting a screened investment program into place.

 

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Mission-based Business Assistance

 

As a Public Benefit Corporation with pending B Corp status, we provide start-up assistance, and also work as advocates to defend mission-based businesses that have a triple-bottom-line approach to providing their products and services.

 

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Microfinance and Access to Capital in Underserved Communities

 

We have extensive experience with microfinance programs worldwide. We review and negotiate documentation for foundation and government program-related investments ("PRIs"), negotiate contracts for capital-market investments used to fund programming in underserved communities worldwide, and have experience working with both overseas counsel and regulators to help get programs instituted and funded.