InvestWithValues.com is the leading gateway for the $6.57 trillion sustainable, responsible and impact investing community with its new, free educational resource.
(Armonk, NY, February 25, 2015) – To meet the growing demand for information on social and impact investment opportunities, leading global resources, relevant content, investment professionals, and topical online forums, Brian Kaminer, a consultant and experienced impact investor, has recently re-branded and enhanced his Money and Impact Investment Directory website.
Invest with Values intends to become the definitive Internet resource for investors learning to align their money and values in ways that generate financial return along with positive social and environmental change.
Positioning itself as “The Investor’s Gateway to Positive Change”, InvestWithValues.com features a directory of over 300 resources, and four public discussion forums: General Money and Values; Local & Community Investing; Private Funds and Impact Investing; and Publicly Traded and Socially Responsible Investing. These online forums are devoted to the possibilities of aligning money and values. Registered site members (signup is free) can initiate or contribute to a discussion, ask a question, share their views, and tap into the collective wisdom and experience of each forum’s participants. It’s an easy way to get up to speed and obtain guidance in the world of social investing.
In recent years, a rapidly growing number of investors have been putting their money where their values are – that is, to invest in companies,organizations, and funds that can make a positive difference in their community, the environment, and the world. According to data from USSIF (an association of investment professionals),US sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) has grown 76% over the past two years.The total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies expanded to $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014.
To facilitate navigation, the revamped site features a “Getting Started” beginner’s directory with just a few listings in each of four categories: Local Banking, Community Investing, Sustainable and Responsible Investing, and Impact Investing. The full directory is organized into 13 topical categories and can now be searched by keyword, resource tag, location, user type. Site visitors who want to be alerted to additions to the directory may sign up for a free e-newsletter with a summary of recent topics from the directory, new resources and popular discussions from the forums.
Invest with Values was launched with the support of 26 promotional partners and 9 sponsors, including RSF Social Finance, Trillium Asset Management, and Calvert Foundation. These sponsors clearly recognize the value of reaching both “newbies” and more experienced social investors.
In 2007, after realizing a need and opportunity for a different approach in how people invest and create value, site founder, Brian Kaminer, created a new company. Talgra, a certified B Corporation, provides consulting services to people seeking opportunities to invest in ways that also create positive social and environmental change.
Kaminer’s goal is that Invest with Values ultimately “fills a void in the investing space by connecting the dots between related investment areas such as local banking, community investing, sustainable & responsible investing, impact investing, and the organizations that occupy them. Our main product is a curated directory of over 300 organizations and resources that share the common thread of using money and investing to create positive change. We firmly believe that our site will serve as a must-visit gateway to the world of values-aligned investment for investors, financial advisors, students, and the media.”
Initial reaction to Invest with Values has been quite favorable. Scott Budde, Project Director for Maine Food System Credit Project and former Managing Director of TIAA-CREF, said that “It is the only site that organizes the world of investing with values in a way that is helpful to newcomers and professionals alike.” Katharine Collins, founder of Honeybee Capital and author of The Nature of Investing, praised InvestwithValues as a “Dream come true – all your impact investing tools in one handy place!” And a feature article in Forbes reports that “Kaminer has accumulated in one place an array of information, from methods for measuring social impact to investor groups.”
About the Resource
Invest with Values is a free educational investing tool, directory, forum and resource site that helps connect related investment areas including local banking, community investing, impact investing, and socially responsible investing. This educational resource originated in July of 2012, as a PDF-formatted directory and hosted by its parent company,Talgra. In May 2013, Talgra introduced a new website: The Money and Impact Investing Directory, a more interactive version of the original directory. In December, 2014, this site was expanded and re-branded as Invest with Values.
