ESG and Sustainable Investing the Sun Devil Way

Chris and Georges talk with Arizona State University CIO Jeff Mindlin about the journey to align investment practices with the sustainability goals and commitments of a large public university.

• Guest

• Jeff Mindlin, Chief Investment Officer of ASU Enterprise Partners

• Background

• Arizona State University is known globally for its leadership in sustainability, having been a founding member of the Intentional Endowment Network and the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3).
• Investment assets in ASU’s endowment are managed by the Foundation and are overseen by ASU Enterprise Partners. The ASU Foundation has steadily been working alongside ASU to elevate sustainable, responsible, and impact investing approaches into the endowment strategy. The ASU Foundation’s current investment priorities are centered on climate and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.  

• Conversation

• Chris, Georges and Jeff discuss a topics that range from the governance of the Foundation to implementation through the use of an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO).
• Jeff shares perspectives on how various university stakeholders are involved in shaping policies via the ESG Sub-Committee. He also provides insights on the benefits of launching an ESG strategy through a separate pool of assets, the role of hedge funds in implementing climate strategies, and the incorporation of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) factors.

For more information, see the highlights from ASU’s impact report released earlier this year: https://www.intentionalendowments.org/asu_investing_report