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What can businesses do to meaningfully align their operations with social and environmental values? In today’s episode, Michael Kramer, Manager and Trust Steward at Natural Investments, and co-author of The Resilient Investor: A Plan for Your Life, Not Just Your Money, shares his insights on the intersection of socially responsible investing (SRI), resilience, and purpose-driven business models. Tune in as Michael reflects on his journey from permaculture advocate to a leader in sustainable finance, offering a unique perspective on how businesses can contribute to a regenerative economy.
In our conversation, Michael discusses Natural Investments’ innovative transition to a perpetual purpose trust, a move designed to maintain independence, uphold corporate social responsibility, and promote racial equity. He explains how this purpose-driven ownership structure empowers trust stewards by distributing power equally and aligning financial strategies with long-term social impact. Michael also highlights the firm’s commitment to racial justice, with policies supporting reparations, equity in leadership, and investments in underserved communities.
Join us today to learn more about how businesses can adopt regenerative practices, create social impact strategies, and foster sustainable business practices for a greener economy. You won’t want to miss out on this in-depth conversation with Michael Kramer on the power of purpose-driven ownership and sustainable finance!
Key Points From This Episode:
Michael Kramer’s journey from permaculture to sustainable finance in the 1990s. [0:00:29]
His book, The Resilient Investor; how it promotes resilience beyond financial assets. [0:05:22]
Unpacking resilience as key to surviving social and ecological disruptions. [0:07:04]
The history of Natural investments pioneering socially responsible investing. [0:10:42]
Measuring the depth of socially responsible mutual funds with the “heart rating”. [0:13:18]
Natural Investment’s transition to a perpetual purpose trust. [0:18:08]
Unpacking their distributed power structure, giving equal votes to all trust stewards. [0:28:03]
A breakdown of their financing to buy out shares, including loans and profit-sharing. [0:30:13]
Their commitment to racial justice through audits and reparations programs. [0:33:40]
Why more businesses should adopt purpose-driven ownership structures. [0:36:24]
Quotes:
“When I was in college, I took over the administration building at my university to protest their investments in the apartheid regime of South Africa, which was big in the 80s. And that marked my real awareness of how capital should be a force for good in the world.” — Michael Kramer [0:02:41]
“That’s our definition of resilience. It's not just about withstanding shock. It's about bouncing back better, building something better that can help evolve humanity to be more just and regenerative in the way it looks at all systems, social and environmental.” — Michael Kramer [0:08:29]
“One of the challenges in our space is that people think all of these socially conscious investments are the same in terms of their criteria, and they are nowhere near the same, and we have known that for over 30 years. So we thought it was a good public service to rate them.” — Michael Kramer [0:13:39]
“We're all advisor-run, so the decisions that we're all making are for us. We're not making them for other people who have different roles. So that has helped people feel a sense of true ownership of [the] process. There's no us in them. There's no management and labor here.” — Michael Kramer [0:17:21]
“We have a permanent racial equity team of advisors that's focused on this work. [They’re] working on everything, from professional development to reparations payments to advisors of color who join the firm to our charitable contributions.” — Michael Kramer [0:34:04]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Michael Kramer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-kramer-4633207/
Natural Investments: https://naturalinvestments.com/
The Resilient Investor: https://www.resilientinvestor.com/
Investing with Your Values: https://www.powells.com/book/investing-with-your-values-making-money-9781576600269
Purpose Owned: https://www.purposeowned.com/
Jenny Kassan: https://www.jennykassan.com/
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