Welcome to the inaugural issue of IMPACT: Ideas and insights changing the world and the way we invest. We created IMPACT to share the latest thinking and perspective of the Veris Team and to highlight a couple of key trends and research about sustainable and impact investing.

We live in transformative times.  An epoch of deep change is under way, creating new ideas and action amidst a sea of profound challenges and creative destruction.  Climate change may be altering our planet, our ecosystem, and other essential life-giving and supporting factors in unimaginably negative ways. Human health may be in decline from chronic disease and global pandemics caused by modern lifestyles; they are swamping not only the American healthcare system, but also rapidly growing nations like China and India.

Core industries are dying. In manufacturing, human hands are being replaced by robots, or otherwise by the hands of lower-wage workers in emerging countries. Very high and chronic unemployment may become structural in Western economies.  Our social safety nets are crumbling.

The Power of Innovation

At the same time, innovation and new technologies are driving a rapid shift to sustainable industries. Astoundingly, wind energy is threatening nuclear and power electric production in the US. Global companies and social entrepreneurs are simultaneously seeking new ways to build more sustainable companies and enterprises to solve intractable environmental and social dilemmas.  In fact, sustainable corporate practices are growing so rapidly that we are seeing a whole class of companies beginning to “break away” from the pack. They are outperforming and out-innovating their competitors based on serious and holistic sustainable business practices.

In local communities, we are seeing community-based organizations, NGOs and individuals taking action to build more resilient and life-giving communities.  Just look at the explosion of local food systems, community energy, Community Development Banks, energy-efficient buildings, new indicators to measure human prosperity. All of this is creating communities that have a resilient, sustainable vision of places people can live and work. Look around. It won’t take long to find these and other practical examples of “new wealth” being built in your community.

The Veris Solution

At Veris, we track these macro and micro trends and work to understand them. We work with families and foundations who care as much about performance as using their wealth to positively impact society. We also work with a wide ecosystem of colleagues across the sustainable investing landscape to create and advance cutting-edge approaches to fully integrating sustainable business practices and impact investing.  After all, capital drives economies and our individual values drive how we invest our capital.  Veris supports those changing their practices to make a difference in their lifetime and for future generations.

Featured in this inaugural issue is a highlight on one way that Veris walks our talk to create impact inside our company and in the world: our membership in the world of B Corporations.  We are thrilled to be named a Best for the World B Corp and to be the only wealth manager with that distinction.

In upcoming posts we will highlight issues ranging from:

  • Green technologies transforming products and production
  • Gender Lens Investing recognizing and empowering women, girls and companies
  • Community wealth building renewing communities
  • Sustainable food systems bring local and sustainable food back home
  • And on…

We hope you enjoy IMPACT.  We promise only relevant and pithy commentary combined with breaking stories. In a world of information overload, we curate content to give you insight and ideas that are changing the world and the way we invest…in under 5 minutes.