Environmentally and Socially Responsible Investing
The UConn Foundation is dedicated to addressing issues regarding environmental sustainability and its impact on economic growth, asset value, and financial markets and is committed to making investments that have positive effects on society.
We have a longstanding commitment to evaluating investment opportunities based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk factors, with ESG risk factors weighed alongside other material risk factors that influence investment decision making.
The UConn Foundation, like most university endowments of its size, does not make any direct investments in projects or businesses. All the Foundation’s investments are made via minority interests in co-mingled investment funds, including funds-of-funds, alongside other investors. Within these various investment funds, we hold only one fund primarily focused on fossil fuel projects, originated in 2013 and accounting for 0.06% of the total endowment pool. It is expected to wind down to zero by 2025.
The UConn Foundation endowment has 0.06 percent direct investment in fossil fuels, expected to wind down to zero by 2025.
We are committed to evaluating investment opportunities on ESG factors. The UConn Foundation endowment has not made any direct investments in fossil fuels since 2013.
We work with advisor StepStone on private asset manager selection, and today our portfolio has evolved to include investments focusing on environmental impact areas such as geothermal energy projects, wind power generation, residential solar projects, waste to energy, and environmental cleanup solutions.
We work with advisor BlackRock on portfolio allocation and manager selection in public assets and hedge funds. BlackRock is a leader in the field of sustainable investing, and a strong advocate of incorporating ESG considerations into all investment decisions.