Our Clients
Our clients represent a broad range of social values. Their concerns include climate change, toxins in consumer products, excessive executive compensation, promoting alternative energy, the advancement of women, the misuse of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, and many other issues.
All clients share our conviction that investments have ethical dimensions, but we find they join Clean Yield for different reasons.
Many clients join because they do not want to profit from a company engaged in activities they find unconscionable. Companies supporting the abusive regimes in Burma and Sudan are examples; so are tobacco companies and cosmetics companies that conduct unnecessary tests on animals.
Some clients join us to put their assets to work in promoting social justice and a healthy planet. We emphasize investments in beneficial sectors, such as wind energy and organic agriculture, and we offer opportunities to invest in disadvantaged communities, as well as in progressive companies too small for traditional stock and bond markets. Beyond that, “activist” clients can work with us in challenging companies to become more socially responsive. Clients can use their stock ownership to press corporations in many areas, such as publicly disclosing political contributions or ensuring equal benefits for lesbian, gay, and transgender employees. In the past, we’ve pushed for racial diversity on boards, for conducting annual public environmental audits, for policies restricting genetic engineering, and for many other initiatives.
Most clients join us, at least in part, because of our financial track record. We attribute Clean Yield’s excellent past performance to strict discipline combined with a long-term investment strategy that takes into account social, environmental, and governance risks. (Past performance may not be indicative of future results.)