The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance is encouraged by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) announcement yesterday that they will reconsider the harmful regulatory changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) that were rushed through during the previous administration. The Alliance urges the OCC to leverage this action as the first step in joining with the Federal Reserve in their CRA reform efforts.
An Urgent Call to Biden-Harris Administration: Create White House Initiative on Inclusive Economic Growth
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, B Lab and a group Of 60 impact-oriented organizations have formed the Coalition On Inclusive Economic Growth. This group will push and work with the administration on advancing policies that refocus corporations and investors on real and equitable value creation that promotes quality jobs, thriving communities and the resilience of our planet.
Alliance Applauds Department of Labor Decision to Provide ERISA Guidance on ESG Factors
This week, the Department of Labor announced that it would not enforce two recent rules – on “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments” and “Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights” – pending further review and guidance for investors. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance applauds this important step and continues to call for swift action to reverse the potential negative effects of these rules.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Supports Nasdaq Proposal on Board Diversity
Last week, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance submitted comments to the SEC in support of a proposal from Nasdaq related to board diversity and disclosure. Countless studies have shown that gender and racial diversity can drive positive business performance, and investors are increasingly demanding access to clear and comparable data on these and other material issues. If approved by the SEC, all Nasdaq-listed companies would be required to have at least one female board member as well as one member who self-identifies as an “underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+.” Additionally, companies would be required to report on their board composition in a standardized manner.
A Proposal for a White House Initiative on Inclusive Economic Growth
The Biden-Harris Administration has inherited a multitude of crises, from the pandemic and economic recession, to systemic racial injustices and a crisis of Democracy. Building back better will be a challenge, and so policymakers must leverage every tool at their disposal to ensure success. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, along with our partners at B Lab and a growing coalition of over 45 organizations, propose the creation of a White House Initiative on Inclusive Economic Growth, staffed at the NEC, that could play a central coordinating role in promoting equitable economic policy across the Administration. The initiative would specifically seek to bring investor and business representatives to the table, ensuring that the private sector is engaged in the inclusive growth agenda.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Submits Comments in Support of Strengthened Community Reinvestment Act
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance submitted comments to the Federal Reserve earlier today in support of their proposed framework to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). A civil rights era policy created to address the racist practice of redlining, the CRA has become the bedrock of the community investing environment here in the United States, lending a stable environment to the place-based work of impact investors.
Five Regulatory Actions Necessary to Support President Biden’s Climate Agenda
President Biden has set out a bold commitment to empower workers and communities, protect public health and the environment, and conserve national treasures. To do so, private capital must be engaged, but unfortunately, harmful regulations leftover from the previous administration would hold us back. The five regulations listed below strip investors of key tools for considering long-term material factors, undermining the administration’s pursuit of social, economic and environmental justice. In accordance with President Biden’s recent Executive Order, we urge the administration to consider rescinding the regulations outlined in this factsheet prepared by the Alliance.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Statement on the Insurrection and Injustice
The last week in American life was undoubtedly one of the worst in American history. Tens of thousands of Americans died in the relentless COVID-19 pandemic. Five were killed in an unprecedented eruption of premeditated political violence. And calls for justice in the face of police brutality against Black Americans were once more denied, this time for the shooting of Jacob Blake. Yet statistics make for poor measures of human suffering. Our capacity to grieve is subsumed by urgency and fear. Our anger strains all sense of reason. But our humanity demands we attend to our collective pain and loss.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Supports IFRS Foundation Effort on Sustainability Standards
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance today submitted public comments to the IFRS Foundation in response to the Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting. The IFRS Foundation is a not-for-profit international organisation responsible for developing a single set of high-quality global accounting standards, known as IFRS Standards. The Consultation Paper solicits public comment on the proposed creation of a new Sustainability Standards Board (SSB) that would look to promote consistent and comparable corporate reporting on key sustainability issues.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Applauds Historic Investment in CDFIs and MDIs in COVID Relief Package
The government spending and economic relief legislation passed by the House and Senate includes a vital set of bipartisan provisions to support community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs). The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance offered its praise for the provisions, which will help bolster community lending for small businesses and nonprofits in the country’s hardest hit communities.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Announces Spinout from the Ford Foundation
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance today announced its spinout from the Ford Foundation following the completion of a four-year incubation period. The organization will be fiscally sponsored by New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity, and the Alliance will now have more flexibility to work with stakeholders and engage with policymakers to help further develop the field and practice of impact investing. Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, will continue to serve as Chair of the Alliance’s Advisory Board.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Publishes New Report on ‘Private Capital, Public Good’ With Bipartisan Call to Action
Comprehensive report includes 12 specific policy recommendations with the potential to catalyze impact investments to help address urgent social, economic and environmental challenges
Alliance Urges Incoming Administration to Reverse Harmful DOL Rule
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance was disheartened to see that today the Department of Labor rushed to finalize an eleventh-hour rulemaking that will harm retirement savers. This latest development in a string of detrimental regulatory moves threatens a fundamental shareholder right to vote proxies, specifically discouraging ERISA-regulated fiduciaries from engaging corporate managers as they consider long-term material factors.
Impact Investing Must Remain a Policy Priority this Year and Beyond
As we await confirmation of key Presidential, Senate and House races, it appears likely that we are on track for two more years of divided government in Washington. This will pose significant challenges to policymakers and advocates alike. The same is true for the champions of impact investing, but we have seen over the last four years and throughout previous administrations that our work continues to have appeal across ideological and partisan divides. At the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, we remain hard at work today crafting a proactive impact investing policy agenda that can contribute to a just and equitable recovery from ongoing crises.
DOL Rushes to Finalize Anti-ESG Rule Despite Widespread Public Opposition
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized a burdensome rule for retirement savers amid an ongoing public health crisis and mere days before the November 3 election. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance is still analyzing the final rule, but it is clear that our significant concerns remain unaddressed.
Private Capital, Public Good - Updating the Impact Investing Public Policy Agenda
At a time of unprecedented social, environmental and economic challenges, it is imperative that the public and private sectors come together to chart the course for a just and inclusive recovery. To that end, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance — with input from dozens of impact investors, community stakeholders and public policy experts — has spent the past several months discussing policy ideas with the potential to catalyze impact investments as one important tool to shape the response to our ongoing crises. These ideas will soon be published in a comprehensive report titled, “Private Capital, Public Good: Leveraging Impact Investing to Support a Just & Equitable Recovery.” Our goal with this work is to craft a set of narratives that could cut through the noise and make clear the role impact investors can play as Washington responds to this collective moment of crisis.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Opposes DOL’s Latest Attack on Long-Term Interests of Retirement Savers
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance submitted public comments today opposing proposed regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor that would harm retirement savers and suppress their voices on critical environmental, social and governance issues.
U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Calls for a Suspension to Yet Another DOL Rulemaking Harmful to Retirement Savers
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance again called on regulators today to suspend an unnecessary and harmful rulemaking effort given the ongoing global health and economic crises. The Department of Labor has proposed a rule that would effectively prohibit ERISA-regulated retirement and pension plan fiduciaries from engaging corporate managers through the proxy vote process, singling out engagement on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in particular. The Alliance and many in the field view this proposal as an attack on shareholder engagement and the broader principles of impact investing.
CDFIs Are on the Frontlines of Supporting Communities. Now They Need Our Help.
As the U.S. grapples with the triple crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession and systemic racism, a pain point has emerged in federal efforts to build an inclusive and equitable recovery – the lack of funding for community development finance institutions, or CDFIs. CDFIs have a rich history, providing low- to moderate-income households, small businesses and operating nonprofits like health clinics with access to responsible, affordable capital. Amid ongoing crises, CDFIs are proving to be the single best avenue for getting capital into the hands of the hardest hit communities.
Alliance Opposes Harmful DOL Rule on ESG Investing
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance submitted a comment letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) today in opposition to the proposed changes to the fiduciary standard for ERISA-regulated retirement plans. The Alliance and its members strongly disagree with the substance of the DOL’s proposal, and we urge regulators to reconsider their foundational assumptions that either lack supporting evidence or are in direct contradiction with broadly accepted investment practices and theories.