Motif CEO Hardeep Walia isn’t shy about sharing his political opinions. He's quick to acknowledge that socially, "I am extremely left."
But that personal infusion of social values has been missing from investing, Walia says, which is why the Silicon Valley-based digital brokerage is offering a new investment tool, Motif Impact Portfolios.
"We wanted to build a product of our times," Walia says. "And the times are political. People care about where their dollars are going. And yet there is a big pool of assets, where people have no clue. And those decisions are delegated to people who may or may not share your values."
The firm conducted its own survey of investor attitudes, and found that the majority of respondents didn't know what was in their investment holdings, nor whether their investments were aligned with their own values.
Lauren Hoffman is an associate at Brooks Pierce who advises and represents employers in both employment law and commercial litigation matters. She assists clients with drafting workplace handbooks, policies, and employment agreements, and provides practical guidance on sensitive workplace issues including harassment, discrimination, and workplace violence.
Tricia Goodson is a partner at Brooks Pierce who counsels management clients on a variety of employment-related issues, including federal and state discrimination and harassment laws; wage and hour compliance; employment policies and handbooks; employment agreements; restructuring; severance programs and policies; confidentiality, assignment of inventions and noncompetition agreements; trade secrets; workplace violence; and drug and alcohol screening. She also represents employers in matters before governmental agencies and in state and federal courts.
Kemper Patton, an associate at law firm Brooks Pierce, litigates labor and employment disputes involving anti-discrimination laws, employment agreements, wage-and-hour issues and unfair labor practices. He also advises clients in a variety of industries on all types of labor and employment matters.
Acknowledging the very act of categorizing a company as socially responsible is a value judgment itself, Walia says investors are free to disagree with recommendations and tailor their portfolios.
But such transparency and flexibility, Walia says, is a quality still lacking in an industry that is currently focused on
"The easiest way to protect the investor is through empowerment," he says, referencing the recent debate over the Department of Labor fiduciary rule. "And empowerment starts with fundamental data and making it easy to access and understand."
Walia challenged the mutual fund industry, saying that investors have been provided little choice to invest with their values in a meaningful way. Unlike most robo advisers, Motif doesn't put investors into a fund, but rather lets them invest directly in shares of a company through its service.
"We're voting with our consumption dollars, but not our investment dollars," Walia says. "We're blindly giving them to the Vanguards of the world, who then vote, and we're passive."
