In recent months, I’ve noticed an interesting trend in this advertising: in addition to how the product will position its future owner for greatness, companies are focusing on the impact that such a purchase makes.  Take this ad that pops up at the landing page of TOMS shoes:

The tagline included is “Stand for Tomorrow”.  The implication is that buying TOMS shoes makes a larger social impact.  The integration of passion, purpose, and socially responsible elements into marketing is an increasing trend is advertising.

This trend has also impacted Wealth Management in the US.  Tiburon Research found that while only 61% of men and 77% of women overall are interested in SRI or Impact Investing, 85% of millennials are interested.  The well-documented wealth transfer that will occur in the coming decades will shift this wealth from men increasingly to women who outlive their male counterparts and to their children.  Tiburon Research also found that SRI fund AUM has increased by 419% over the last eight years.  When I talk to Wealth Managers about these trends, their response has overwhelmingly been that they observe increasing questions from clients, particularly younger clients, about what kind of impact their investments make.  Can their investments be aligned with their passions?  Do their investments hurt or help climate change, child slavery, or diverse board representation?  Unfortunately, they have no solutions that can align investor passions and purpose with the portfolio being managed.

First Rate is in the initial stages of researching and testing solutions that can do just that.  We believe the successful Wealth Managers of the future will be able to align an investor’s passions and purpose with their portfolio, all while delivering on their financial goals.  First Rate was founded with a bold vision of innovation, moving performance from mainframes to PCs.  Today, we are translating this passion for innovation not only into new ways of delivering performance solutions such as Investment Performance As A Service, but also into supporting the blending of investor passions and purpose with their investments.

Have thoughts on this subject? Reach out to me!