Calvert Foundation is in the preliminary stages of researching and developing other initiatives, says president and CEO Lisa Hall. One focuses on revitalizing hard-hit U.S. cities through affordable housing and transit-oriented development. Cities it is looking at include Detroit, Baltimore and Oakland, Calif. A diaspora initiative focuses on immigrants’ communities in the U.S. and in their native countries. 

“At Calvert Foundation, we’re trying to provide easy-to-use tools to offer to clients at a time when more people are clamoring to align their money with their values,” says Hall. Brokerages now represent 80% of CI Note sales, which the foundation thinks indicates more mainstream acceptance of impact investing. It is also sharing its knowledge with other impact organizations interested in becoming more integrated into financial markets.  

Advisor Outlook

Gary Matthews, a New York-based investment advisory representative with First Affirmative Financial Network LLC, has used CI Notes for more than 10 years as part of his clients’ fixed-income needs. Matthews, who manages nearly $43 million in assets for 100 clients, says 1% to 5% of their portfolios are allocated to community investments through CI Notes and two mutual funds that focus on affordable housing in the U.S.—the Community Reinvestment Act Qualified Investment Fund and the Access Capital Community Investment Fund.

Matthews say he’s impressed by Calvert Foundation’s relationships with organizations worldwide, and that he usually uses general CI Notes for clients. “They often want to do something good with their money but they don’t want to do it themselves,” he says. “[Still,] there’s a lot of human interest here. It’s a high-touch investment that people can wrap their heads and hearts around.” His clients, who are typically not high-net-worth individuals, usually opt for one to two year notes and renew them.

Kathy Leonard, a financial advisor with UBS Financial Services and head of the Boulder, Colo.-based Leonard Social Investment Group, has used CI Notes since their debut. Her group manages more than $300 million in assets for about 20 key clients, most of whom are HNW or ultra-HNW individuals. Approximately 3% of total assets are in CI Notes, which her clients use for fixed-income and philanthropic goals. She also offers some private debt and private equity impact investments.

Leonard says CI Notes have helped spark interesting conversations with clients. Some invest in notes tied to specific initiatives, but most opt for the general notes. Either way, “clients do this because they want to affect change,” she says. “Who wouldn’t want to be help to end poverty, change lives, lift people up and finance someone’s first home or a day care center?”

Like Matthews, Leonard is attracted to Calvert Foundation’s strong track record, big impact and easy-to-use electronic exchange. “I really applaud the folks at Calvert for putting it on an investment platform that fixed-income desks understand,” she says. “That’s been a catalyst in driving money into impact investing.”

Says Hall from Calvert Foundation, “We’re trying to make it possible to make every investor an impact investor.”