Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles. To read other articles in the series, click here: article 1, article 2, article 3
Over the past three months, I have interviewed 15 women who are trendsetters and innovators in the impact and sustainable finance sector. These women leaders are clear about today's capital market opportunities and risks. They are embracing both as the investment industry transitions toward a low carbon economy with greater emphasis on the economic value of intangible corporate assets and social impact enterprises.
These women are using their industry experience and leadership platforms to articulate a powerful message regarding the rapid growth in the use of non-financial data to drive investment performance and risk management.
Deploy Impact Capital More Rapidly
When asked what her unique skill sets are, “sound business judgement and the desire to help others”, have been Allyson McDonald’s, CEO at Work Capital, most valuable tools. Launched May 2017, Work Capital is McDonald’s answer to deploying capital more rapidly into impact investing opportunities and the firm has already doubled its assets this year. Work Capital is an asset management and consulting firm focused on delivering performance with purpose, institutional rigor and authenticity to impact investing. Currently Work Capital has large cap core ESG strategies, and thematic lens strategies focused on gender equality, climate change, social justice, and sustainable infrastructure.
I was excited to talk to McDonald about Work Capital’s new role managing the Heron Foundation’s U.S. Community Investing Index (USCII). She and her partner at Work Capital, Jason Britton, have recently been licensed to manage and distribute separately managed accounts for the USCII, which had previously been at State Street Global Advisors for nearly a decade. (Although SSGA no longer offers separately managed accounts, it continues to manage a common trust fund that aims to replicate the USCII.) The USCII is managed using an indexing approach, supporting companies that contribute positively to the communities in which they operate.