Colleges and universities have over $400 billion dollars in their endowments. Typically, schools hire investment managers to invest most of that money. Those managers are chosen for financial reasons, and within a set of guidelines, make all of the decisions for their slice of the endowment. Active Ownership is the implementation of being ‘active’ with the different investments a school makes. There are many different kinds of ways an institution can be an active owner.
The Active Ownership Initiative helps schools and committees on investor responsibility become active owners through engaging with companies and managers they invest in, on their environmental, social, and governance practices. Schools can also engage in supporting important changes in corporate reporting by joining investor coalitions and writing to regulators along with thousands of other investors.
Learn more about working with a college or university on their proxy voting, or filing resolutions, particularly as part of a committee on investor responsibility (CIR).