Created as a result of the Great Depression, The Social Security Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt in 1935; mainly due to the rise in poverty of the nation’s elderly population. The act was designed to provide retired workers ages 65 and older with a...
Zombie debt is old debt that is typically written off as bad debt by the original creditor and then later sold to collection agencies for pennies on the dollar. Most of the debt sold is years old and cannot legally be collected, though many consumers are unaware of...
Investing in the stock market can be extremely rewarding, but not without risk. While most investors understand that market volatility is a given in the stock market, for those trying to decide whether to invest in stocks, the volatility alone gives them pause. A lot...
Like health care, many of us continue with the same auto insurance policy for years, never bothering to find out whether another insurance carrier could provide better service or save us some money. But there are several reasons why shopping for another auto insurance...
In 2018, Americans’ debt hit $13 trillion, with the average American carrying more than $38,000 in debt – not including home mortgages. For many, debt is simply a way of life, with more Americans living from paycheck to paycheck. For those consumed by debt, Chapter 7...
While owning a home is the quintessential American dream, not everyone is able to purchase a home when they desire. If you’re fresh out of school with a boat load of student debt, it’s probably best to wait until you’ve been working for at least a year before you...
Time certainly goes by fast. One day you’re interviewing for your first job and the next thing you know you’re a few short years from applying for Social Security. If you’ve planned for your retirement, you’ll likely have a good stash of funds saved. But the...
Personal finance, like just about everything else, is mainly common sense. Advice like “don’t spend more than you make; start investing while you’re young; don’t loan money to friends with the expectation of getting it back,” have been around for generations, and most...
With the rise in popularity of financial planning robo-advisors, many experts predicted the beginning of the end for financial advisors. But as many investors are starting to see, there are distinct advantages to speaking with a live person when determining just how...
We all have certain causes that we choose to support monetarily. In fact, in 2017, Americans gave more than $410 billion to charities, breaking the $400 billion mark for the first time in history. But anytime that we give our money to an organization, it’s important...
While it may not seem so, there are a lot of painless ways to save money. Not just for those who have a limited cash flow, but also for those with plenty of surplus cash who will appreciate ways to cut back on monetary waste. Here are just a few things you can do to...
Whether you like it or not, a good credit score is essential. Your credit score factors into everything from insurance rates, to whether you get the job you applied for. A good credit score is also needed to buy a house, obtain cell phone service, rent an apartment,...
Mark Bateman is Aperio’s Head of Values-Aligned and ESG Research within BlackRock’s SMA Solutions unit. He is an internationally recognized ESG/SRI/Impact expert and works with Aperio’s clients to create customized values-alignment solutions.
Before joining Aperio, he served as the Director of Research at IW Financial (now part of ISS), a leading provider of value-added ESG research. Mark started his ESG career at the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC, now part of MSCI) in Washington, DC, in a range of positions, including Director of the Environmental Information Service, and ultimately, Vice President of Research and Operations. He also served on the original steering committee of the Global Reporting Initiative, helping to develop a sustainability reporting framework for companies. Before joining the ESG industry, Mark worked as a legislative aide for Sen. Mark Hatfield (OR) in his DC office.
In addition, Mark is pursuing a PhD in Public Administration and Policy through Old Dominion University’s School of Public Service. Mark’s research is focused on corporations in the public policy process. Mark lives and works in Salem, Oregon.
Jamie Nulph, CFA, is a Senior Climate Specialist at MSCI. She works closely with the largest institutional investors in North America to understand, evaluate, and report on climate-related risks and opportunities. Jamie has 15 years of experience in Sustainable Investing. Prior to joining MSCI in 2014, she worked in London with a UK-based ESG research firm, supporting European Institutional Investors on ESG integration, mission-
aligned investing, and stewardship.
Jamie co-leads MSCI’s Women’s Leadership Forum and is a founder of Bay ESG, a group focused on building connections and facilitating knowledge sharing for sustainable investment professionals across the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine.