Elizabeth Levy, CFA Joins Trillium as Portfolio Manager
Trillium Asset Management is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Levy, CFA has joined the firm as a portfolio manager in our Boston office. Ms. Levy has been involved in sustainable and responsible investing for nearly a decade. “We are excited to have Liz join Trillium. Her strong analytical skills will be a great complement to Trillium’s investment process,” commented Matt Patsky, Trillium’s CEO. “Our firm continues to experience significant growth in institutional and individual assets. Having another experienced portfolio manager allows us to effectively manage this growth,” continued Mr. Patsky. “I am thrilled to be joining Trillium. I have long …
Trillium Asks Regulators to Stop Banks from Making Payday Loans
Trillium Asset Management, along with 250 national, state and local organizations and individuals, has recently sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, The Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency asking the regulators to stop banks from making predatory payday loans, which can carry annual interest rates of nearly 400%. The letter focuses on deposit “advance” loans which banks structure like loans from payday lenders. These loans are high-cost and have a short-term balloon repayment, trapping low-wealth and low-income borrowers in a cycle of expensive and increasing debt, causing serious financial …
Matt Patsky Testifies on “Citizens United” at MA State House
On February 28, 2012, Trillium’s CEO, Matt Patsky, testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of Senate Bill No. 772. The bill calls upon the United States Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution reversing the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision. “Citizens United allows corporations to use their enormous wealth to drown out the voices of the American people, and it allows them to do so anonymously”, Mr. Patsky said in his testimony. “The lack of transparency and oversight in corporate political activity encourages behavior that puts corporations and its shareholders …
New Investor Advisory Raises Questions About Proposed Open Pit Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska
Earthworks, an environmental nonprofit, has recently published a report that details the growing list of regulatory, legal, engineering, and political challenges facing the Pebble Mine project. The proposed open pit mine would be located at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed, which produces 50 percent of the world’s commercial supply of wild sockeye salmon. “Opposition to the Pebble mine project has translated into a barrage of legal, political and regulatory hurdles over the last year,” said Jonas Kron, an analyst with Trillium Asset Management, who reviewed the report. “After scrutinizing the project details, we believe there are significant risks …
First Peoples Worldwide Announces Partnership with Trillium Asset Management
Research and Advocacy Collaboration To Promote Indigenous Voices in the Boardroom Contacts: Lisa MacKinnon, Trillium Asset Management (617) 423-6655 Katie Cheney, First Peoples Worldwide (540) 899-6545 February 1, 2012 — First Peoples Worldwide (FPW), a global indigenous nonprofit dedicated to strengthening Indigenous Peoples, today announced a new partnership with Trillium Asset Management. Under the terms of the partnership, Trillium is undertaking custom research and shareholder advocacy focused on how corporate policies and programs can better protect and enhance Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Founded in 1997 by widely acclaimed advocate Rebecca Adamson, FPW supports projects that preserve biodiversity, identify contemporary applications for …
Trillium Urges Washington State Corporations to Support Marriage Equality Legislation
On January 27, 2012, Trillium Asset Management, LLC and seven other institutional investors wrote to 18 companies based, or with a strong presence, in Washington State, to encourage them to support legislation allowing lesbian and gay couples to marry. The letter states, “We believe it is not only the right thing to do, but that it is smart business practice that enhances competitiveness in attracting and retaining employees from the widest possible talent pool.” Washington-based employers such as Concur, Group Health, Microsoft, RealNetworks, Starbucks and Vulcan and other employers such as Alcoa, Google and Nike have recently endorsed Washington’s marriage …
On 2nd Anniversary of Citizens United, Trillium, Green Century Capital Management & Advocacy Groups Launch Drive to Stem Corporate Political Spending
On the second anniversary of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, Trillium Asset Management, LLC and Green Century Capital Management announce that they have filed shareholder resolutions at three companies, Bank of America, 3M & Target Corporation, urging them to refrain from making political donations in the future. This is the first time institutional shareholders have asked corporations to entirely refrain from political spending. Read more here …
Trillium Confronts Lowe's Over Decision To Cut Ads On All-American Muslim
Recently, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW) pulled advertising from a television show, All-American Muslim, after the Florida Family Association (FFA) complained about the content of the show. The reality show follows the lives of a group of Muslim-American families in a Detroit suburb with a sizable Muslim population and addresses issues of religious intolerance and discrimination. According to reports, the FFA called the show “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.” As Lowe’s shareholders, we found the company’s decision and subsequent handling of the controversy abhorrent and failed to live up to …
Nominations for 2012 Joan Bavaria Award Being Accepted
BOSTON – Ceres and Trillium Asset Management are seeking nominations for the fifth annual Joan Bavaria Award. Submissions will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, February 13, 2012. Nominations can be submitted at www.ceres.org/awards/joan-bavaria-award. The Joan Bavaria Award honors unique investor, business, and NGO leaders who are working to transform the capital markets into a system that balances economic prosperity with social and environmental concerns. The winner of this year’s award will be announced at the opening reception of the 2012 Ceres Conference on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, in Boston. Bavaria founded both Ceres and Trillium Asset Management. …
Statement on Occupy Wall Street
November 2011 Trillium Asset Management, LLC is the oldest independent US investment firm dedicated to sustainable investing. Sustainability is a concept used to describe social systems — whether a family, a corporation or a society as a whole. A social system is sustainable when it is economically vital, environmentally responsible, and socially equitable. Each of these qualities partly depends on the other two, and all of them flourishing together and in balance are necessary for a social system to be truly sustainable. We agree with essential themes emerging from Occupy Wall Street (OWS). The rallying cry of OWS is: “We …
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