BlackRock Targets Idealistic Millennials With Do-Good Investing
- Millennials' grassroots movement leads to a new asset base
- BlackRock starts selling first impact-labeled fund in U.S.
Pedestrians walking with umbrellas pass by taxi in front of BlackRock Inc. offices in New York, U.S., on Friday, April 12, 2013. BlackRock Inc. predicts Canadian 10-year benchmark bond yields may fall to the lowest since at least the 1950s as a sputtering economy douses expectations the Bank of Canada will increase borrowing costs this year.
Photographer: Scott Eells/BloombergIt began as idle chatter between two employees in their 20s exploring the intersection of lucre and idealism. Both had read about the practice of investing in companies that seek to do good and still make a profit.
At the time, four years ago, so-called impact investing was still pretty new and the employees, Zaneta Koplewicz and Robert Morris, noted that their company, BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, had nothing like it. They also noted something else: people like them -- well-educated millennials -- were deeply attracted to it. If it was becoming more viable, there was a market niche to be filled.