MMI NetMeeting – Guiding Investors in Addressing Income Inequality

Replay | MMI NetMeeting

Income inequality is a defining issue of our time. In the United States, the top 1% of families earn nearly 27 times that of the other 99% of families. The richest 1% of families worldwide hold more wealth than the rest of the world combined. Beyond the obvious ethical concerns, income inequality is an extremely problematic issue for investors.

Researchers link it to slower economic growth, increased frequency and intensity of economic busts, the rise of nationalistic populism, trade wars, and tendencies toward isolationism – and this was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2018, The Investment Integration Project (TIIP) partnered with the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), to produce a report that outlined the why and what of income inequality for investors – why they should care about income inequality and what they can do to address the issue. In partnership with The Generation Foundation, TIIP is extending the analysis to provide investors guidance on how they can effectively address income inequality through any number of actions around: (1) labor relations and workers’ rights, (2) CEO compensation, and (3) corporate and financial services company tax policies and practices.

These efforts are complemented by the recently launched Understanding Systemic Social Risk: A Roadmap for Financial Industry Action, a collaboration between TIIP and the Moving the Market Initiative – a partnership between Humanity United, UBS Optimus Foundation, and The Freedom Fund – that is helping investors better understand and respond to the material risks to their investments that are caused by the deep interconnection between social and financial systems. 

This NetMeeting aims to equip investment and research professionals with the tools to help them have the conversation and navigate the inclusion of income inequality criteria in their investment decisions.

Hear from a panel of practitioners on what is working NOW and how we can lean into the problem.   

Introduction

Tim Williams, Director of Education Initiatives, Money Management Institute

Moderator:

William Burckart, President, The Investment Integration Project (TIIP)

Presenters:

  • Kelly Major Green, CIMA®, Institutional Consultant, Graystone Consulting
  • Kirsty Jenkinson, Investment Director, Sustainable Investment & Stewardship Strategies, California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)
  • Michael Musuraca, Independent Consultant and Strategic Advisor on ESG and Labor Practices

Closing:

Grace Eddy, Director, The Generation Foundation

Duration
50 minutes (including time allocated for Q&A)
For more information, contact MMI at (646) 868-8500 or email events@mminst.org