Investing With Impact

Editor’s note: This article is part of a continuing series in which Paul Ellis, a well-known advisor and consultant on sustainable investing strategies, interviews industry professionals on the topics of millennials and sustainable investing. What follows is an interview with industry expert, Lily Scott Trager, director of investing with impact at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

To read other article in the series, click on the links below:

http://www.fa-mag.com/news/the-wise-woman-and-the-millennial-23738.html

http://www.fa-mag.com/news/millennials-leading-the-way-in-sustainable-investing-24019.html

http://www.fa-mag.com/news/millennials-mainstreaming-impact-investing-24487.html

/news/an-sri-collaboration-across-generations-and-genders-24873.html

/news/like-minded-people-with-purpose-and-passion-25457.html

/news/green-investing--all-in-the-family-26082.html

/news/sri-investing-well-positioned-for-growth-26394.html

/news/a-passion-for-healthy-living-and-sustainability-26918.html

/news/investing-with-a-personal-touch-27147.html

Ellis: Lily, tell us about your background from the time you got interested in sustainable investing through where you are in your career today.

Scott Trager: In my undergraduate education, I majored in anthropology and French, which led me to study abroad in Madagascar, where more than 80 percent of the plants and animals are endemic. The culture was incredibly unique, and I saw how Malagasy women who had limited or no formal education, no business mentors and very little access to capital were able to start small businesses, which supported their families and enabled them to participate in their local community and politics. They used capital to affect change on a very personal level.

I realized that having access to capital can create viable businesses that generate positive environmental and social impacts for business owners and their community. This formative experience quickly became my focus professionally.

I returned from Madagascar and realized I needed conventional finance and investment experience to participate in transforming the existing system and generate positive social and environmental impact.

When I graduated from college, I worked at a traditional investment consultancy and actively sought out opportunities with clients interested in “socially responsible” or “mission related” investing. I’ve had the good fortune of working at the intersection of investment management and generating positive impact for over a decade, and to work with mentors to carve out the role I wanted to play in a relatively nascent industry. We had to build infrastructure and create the investment opportunities that were not within the existing system.