Wallace Global Fund began overhauling our investments in 2009 to better align our endowment with our grantmaking goals. We revamped our Investment Policy Statement and formed a new Investment Committee. The data are increasingly clear- prudent and effectively managed portfolios that integrate ESG standards can deliver excellent returns. Further, divesting from fossil fuels will not hinder returns over time, but can enhance them. Fossil fuel companies and other opponents of the campaign to divest from fossil fuels often warn that investors who shed coal, oil, and gas companies from their portfolios will face dire financial consequences. But Wallace Global Fund and our partners in philanthropy have found the opposite to be true. Despite shedding coal, oil, and gas companies from our portfolio and aligning our portfolio with our mission, our financial returns have consistently outperformed their benchmarks and comparable market indexes. This has allowed us to increase our grantmaking budget and contribute more resources to people-powered movements.
