The Secret Behind Osmosis’ $17B Success: Using Data to Crush ESG Stereotypes for Scalable Impact | Ben Dear (#066)

Last week, my guest, Ben Dear, the founder and CEO of Osmosis Investment Management, started sharing his extraordinary journey – a 17-year journey of career pivots that ultimately led him to create one of the most innovative sustainable investment funds. We paused at the pivotal moment when he founded Osmosis, which now manages over $17 billion in assets.

Today, we’re continuing the Osmosis story and diving into the groundbreaking strategies behind its success. 

Ben explains how his team developed a systematic, data-driven approach to investing, using their resource efficiency factor to measure carbon, water, and waste management as predictors of company returns. This method allows Osmosis to build portfolios that consistently outperform benchmarks while significantly reducing environmental footprints.

We also talk about ESG data – what’s broken, why it matters, and how Osmosis collects, cleans, and standardizes its own data to ensure accountability. Ben unpacks the nuances of portfolio construction, balancing risk and reward, and shares how they’ve managed to cater to global institutional clients while staying laser-focused on their mission: delivering returns that are both financial and environmental.

If you still doubt that sustainability can drive profitability – or that a boutique firm can achieve explosive growth while redefining public equity investing – this episode is a must-listen.

Let’s pick up where we left off!

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About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.

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Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• The meaning behind “Osmosis” & core investment philosophy (03:26)
• Emerging markets fund launch (14:55)
• Osmosis’ theory of change (22:20)
• Data collection and fundraising journey (33:13)
• Osmosis’ investment process (49:28)
• Key Metrics: carbon, water, and waste (56:18)
• Engaging companies to disclose environmental data (01:11:27)
• Rapid fire questions (01:26:14)
• Contact info (01:32:37)

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Additional Resources:

Osmosis website

Ben Dear LinkedIn