Chris Stewart: He is Co-Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at Veris Wealth Partners. Thank you for taking the time to be with us. Your group specializes in ESG investing. What’s an example of a company that is a good ESG investment?
In Veris’ first publication about regenerative farming and ranching, The Regenerative Agriculture Revolution, the practice was defined as “a holistic land management practice that leverages the power of photosynthesis in plants to close the carbon cycle and build soil health, crop resilience, and nutrient density.” 1
In many ways, this definition holds true today. Regenerative agriculture is a system of practices, including no till, cover cropping, managed grazing, crop rotation, integrated crop and livestock systems, and precise input application. As regenerative agriculture has continued to gain momentum within the impact investing space, Veris has expanded our firm’s definition to differentiate agricultural practices that “restore, improve, and enhance the biological vitality” of farming landscapes while supporting “the resilience of the communities and broader value chains in which they are situated” in alignment with the Croatan Institute’s definition offered in its 2019 paper Soil Wealth: Investing in Regenerative Agriculture across Asset Classes.2
Veris Wealth Partners, an independent, majority-woman-led financial advisory firm that serves families, foundations, and endowments, won awards for Impact Investing (Advisory) and Diversity in Wealth Management (Company) at the 2024 Family Wealth Report Awards.*
By Jane Swan, CFA and Roraj Pradhananga, CIMA & CPA
Against the headwinds of eleven Fed interest rate hikes, which started in March of 2022 and plateaued at 5.25%-5.5% in July of 2023, the US economy remains strong. 1 Consumer spending withstood higher borrowing costs, persistent, but slowing, inflation, and the dwindling of pandemic era savings.
Both the manufacturing and services purchasing manager index (PMI), which are indicators of economic resilience, were in expansionary territory as of March 2024. There was a slight deterioration in services PMI in the first quarter and consumer sentiment worsened due to higher inflation expectations, but real wage growth remains positive supporting consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 70% of the US GDP.
