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Press Release: The Investment Integration Project Releases New Report “System-level Investing: Case Studies of Investors Leading the Way” that Highlights First-Mover Investment Teams That Have Embraced the Practices for System-level Investing

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Press Release: The Investment Integration Project Releases New Report “System-level Investing: Case Studies of Investors Leading the Way” that Highlights First-Mover Investment Teams That Have Embraced the Practices for System-level Investing

Posted | Updated by Insights team:

Publication | Update:

Apr 2024
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The Investment Integration Project (TIIP) announced today the release of a new report, System-level Investing: Case Studies of Investors Leading the Way. With the support of the Surdna Foundation, this report was developed as part of TIIP’s broader response to its industry needs assessment conducted in 2021 and 2022, which made clear that while stakeholders are concerned about the systemic nature of social and environmental issues and their connection to investment, there remains a clear need for more information and evidence to foster an accessible path for institutional investors to adopt system-level investing.

“The case studies provide a snapshot into the global community of practice of investors bridging the gap between systemic issues and their investment decision (or portfolios) using a diversity of approaches,” said William Burckart, the CEO of TIIP and co-author of the book 21st Century Investing: Redirecting Financial Strategies to Drive Systems Change. “They demonstrate where the field is headed and present a path forward for other investors to learn from their peers and join the evolution of investment,” said Burckart.

For this report, TIIP selected five investors known to be leading the way in acknowledging the importance of and incorporating system-level investing techniques to address systemic social and environmental risks and advance related solutions.

  • Domini Impact Investments, a women-led investment adviser that focuses exclusively on impact investing, with a focus on forest and land use.
  • University Pension Plan (UPP), a jointly sponsored defined benefit pension plan created by and for Ontario’s university sector with $ 10.8 billion in pension assets.
  • Wespath Benefits and Investments, a nonprofit pension fund and general agency of the United Methodist Church with over $ 24 billion in assets under management.

“Adapting to a changing world, these asset owners and managers are leading the next, critical shift in investment,” said Adam Connaker, the Director of Impact Investing for the Surdna Foundation. “They are adopting policies to transform conventional investment strategies in a way that both confronts systemic environmental and social challenges and makes financial sense,” said Connaker.

TIIP’s analysis of the case studies shows a field of system-level investing that is still carving out its norms and charting a course for success and replicability. While the newness of this investment trend can make it difficult to properly evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of their implementation, the report makes clear the ways in which early adopters are integrating these new strategies.

System-level investors start with adapting conventional investment techniques, first and foremost in their statements of investment beliefs and investment policies. From there, investors adopt advanced techniques, notably focusing on collaborating with like-minded firms to generate cross-industry engagement and amplify their influence. The advanced techniques that firms choose to utilize will differ depending on their size, capabilities, and thematic focus. A critical throughline is the presence of internal champions who play crucial roles in making their teams and boards aware of system-level investing and its merits.

“Investment risks, such as climate change, are not limited to individual securities. Rather, they are market-wide, systemic challenges,” said Aeisha Mastagni, Senior Portfolio Manager, CalSTRS. “As universal asset owners with a highly diversified portfolio, mitigating these risks is essential to support long-term value and to secure the pensions of California’s public educators and their beneficiaries,” said Mastagni.

“It is exciting to see system-level investing move from a theoretical proposal to concrete work as investors begin putting it into practice. We at Domini have long been advocates of TIIP’s work, as well as practitioners, recognizing its role in helping to address some of society’s most pressing challenges,” said Carole Laible, CEO, Domini Impact Investments. “The groundbreaking work of these early adopters will lay a clear path for the financial community. Congratulations to TIIP for compiling these case studies as a critical reference for all investors,” said Laible.

“As a foundation viewing our investment practices through a community-focused lens, we seek to manage our financial investments in a way that generates sustainable financial and social returns, aligned to the systemic challenges our nonprofit partners are trying to solve,” said Shannon O’Leary, Chief Investment Officer, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. “By aligning our investments with our greater purpose—in our case, inspiring generosity, advocating for equity and investing in community-led solutions—we can achieve strong financial returns and social benefits as well,” said O’Leary. Alex Rotenberger, Senior Investment Analyst, added, “We also use our learnings as a starting point for conversations within our circles of influence, working with external fund managers on more equitable practices within their own firms, for example.”

“For UPP, integrating a systems-level approach to our investing activities means accounting for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors at every stage of the investment process. This approach extends to our external investment partners and industry peers, with which we seek to continuously improve performance in these areas,” said Brian Minns, Senior Managing Director, University Pension Plan. “As a long-term investor, these efforts help position us to manage risk, derive and protect value in line with our fiduciary duty to our members, and contribute to healthy, resilient, and sustainable capital markets today and for generations to come,” said Minns.

“Wespath has built our sustainable investing program around the belief that addressing many of the risks investors are facing requires a systemic lens,” said Jake Barnett, Managing Director of Sustainable Investment Strategies, Wespath Benefits and Investments. “TIIP helps us better understand and consider these risks, and determine actionable steps to address them,” said Barnett.

Lucas Schoeppner, Manager, Sustainable Investment Stewardship, Wespath Benefits and Investments, added, “The Investment Integration Project and their SAIL platform helps us articulate our views on systems-level issues and structure them into practical actions that can be incorporated into the investment process. This can include setting expectations and monitoring progress with asset managers on climate, or informing policy and corporate engagement on income inequality,” said Schoeppner.

With these five investors as examples, a roadmap begins to form, charting a path for investors to incorporate system-level investing techniques. The case studies and analysis show a replicable order of operations and necessary set of ingredients that support this approach. These components are compiled in TIIP’s new SAIL platform, which provides in-depth guidance for investors to embark on their journey to becoming or strengthening their system-level beliefs and techniques.

Read the report here.

Photo courtesy of Salzburg Global Seminar.

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This study has assimilated knowledge and insight from business and subject-matter experts, and from a broad spectrum of market initiatives. Building on this research, the objectives of this market research report is to provide actionable intelligence on opportunities alongside the market size of various segments, as well as fact-based information on key factors influencing the market- growth drivers, industry-specific challenges and other critical issues in terms of detailed analysis and impact.

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The report also studies various growth drivers and restraints impacting the  market, plus a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key players.  This analysis also examines the competitive landscape within each market. Market factors are assessed by examining barriers to entry and market opportunities. Strategies adopted by key players including recent developments, new product launches, merger and acquisitions, and other insightful updates are provided.

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We leverage extensive primary research, our contact database, knowledge of companies and industry relationships, patent and academic journal searches, and Institutes and University associate links to frame a strong visibility in the markets and technologies we cover.

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Forecast methodology

The future outlook “forecast” is based on a set of statistical methods such as regression analysis, industry specific drivers as well as analyst evaluations, as well as analysis of the trends that influence economic outcomes and business decision making.
The Global Economic Model is covering the political environment, the macroeconomic environment, market opportunities, policy towards free enterprise and competition, policy towards foreign investment, foreign trade and exchange controls, taxes, financing, the labour market and infrastructure. We aim update our market forecast to include the latest market developments and trends.

Forecasts, Data modelling and indicator normalisation

Review of independent forecasts for the main macroeconomic variables by the following organizations provide a holistic overview of the range of alternative opinions:

  • Cambridge Econometrics (CE)

  • The Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR)

  • Experian Economics (EE)

  • Oxford Economics (OE)

As a result, the reported forecasts derive from different forecasters and may not represent the view of any one forecaster over the whole of the forecast period. These projections provide an indication of what is, in our view most likely to happen, not what it will definitely happen.

Short- and medium-term forecasts are based on a “demand-side” forecasting framework, under the assumption that supply adjusts to meet demand either directly through changes in output or through the depletion of inventories.
Long-term projections rely on a supply-side framework, in which output is determined by the availability of labour and capital equipment and the growth in productivity.
Long-term growth prospects, are impacted by factors including the workforce capabilities, the openness of the economy to trade, the legal framework, fiscal policy, the degree of government regulation.

Direct contribution to GDP
The method for calculating the direct contribution of an industry to GDP, is to measure its ‘gross value added’ (GVA); that is, to calculate the difference between the industry’s total pre­tax revenue and its total bought­in costs (costs excluding wages and salaries).

Forecasts of GDP growth: GDP = CN+IN+GS+NEX

GDP growth estimates take into account:

  • Consumption, expressed as a function of income, wealth, prices and interest rates;

  • Investment as a function of the return on capital and changes in capacity utilization; Government spending as a function of intervention initiatives and state of the economy;

  • Net exports as a function of global economic conditions.

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Market Quantification
All relevant markets are quantified utilizing revenue figures for the forecast period. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) within each segment is used to measure growth and to extrapolate data when figures are not publicly available.

Revenues

Our market segments reflect major categories and subcategories of the global market, followed by an analysis of statistical data covering national spending and international trade relations and patterns. Market values reflect revenues paid by the final customer / end user to vendors and service providers either directly or through distribution channels, excluding VAT. Local currencies are converted to USD using the yearly average exchange rates of local currencies to the USD for the respective year as provided by the IMF World Economic Outlook Database.

Industry Life Cycle Market Phase

Market phase is determined using factors in the Industry Life Cycle model. The adapted market phase definitions are as follows:

  • Nascent: New market need not yet determined; growth begins increasing toward end of cycle

  • Growth: Growth trajectory picks up; high growth rates

  • Mature: Typically fewer firms than growth phase, as dominant solutions continue to capture the majority of market share and market consolidation occurs, displaying lower growth rates that are typically on par with the general economy

  • Decline: Further market consolidation, rapidly declining growth rates

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The Global Economic Model
The Global Economic Model brings together macroeconomic and sectoral forecasts for quantifying the key relationships.

The model is a hybrid statistical model that uses macroeconomic variables and inter-industry linkages to forecast sectoral output. The model is used to forecast not just output, but prices, wages, employment and investment. The principal variables driving the industry model are the components of final demand, which directly or indirectly determine the demand facing each industry. However, other macroeconomic assumptions — in particular exchange rates, as well as world commodity prices — also enter into the equation, as well as other industry specific factors that have been or are expected to impact.

  • Vector Auto Regression (VAR) statistical models capturing the linear interdependencies among multiple time series, are best used for short-term forecasting, whereby shocks to demand will generate economic cycles that can be influenced by fiscal and monetary policy.

  • Dynamic-Stochastic Equilibrium (DSE) models replicate the behaviour of the economy by analyzing the interaction of economic variables, whereby output is determined by supply side factors, such as investment, demographics, labour participation and productivity.

  • Dynamic Econometric Error Correction (DEEC) modelling combines VAR and DSE models by estimating the speed at which a dependent variable returns to its equilibrium after a shock, as well as assessing the impact of a company, industry, new technology, regulation, or market change. DEEC modelling is best suited for forecasting.

Forecasts of GDP growth per capita based on these factors can then be combined with demographic projections to give forecasts for overall GDP growth.
Wherever possible, publicly available data from official sources are used for the latest available year. Qualitative indicators are normalised (on the basis of: Normalised x = (x - Min(x)) / (Max(x) - Min(x)) where Min(x) and Max(x) are, the lowest and highest values for any given indicator respectively) and then aggregated across categories to enable an overall comparison. The normalised value is then transformed into a positive number on a scale of 0 to 100. The weighting assigned to each indicator can be changed to reflect different assumptions about their relative importance.

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The principal explanatory variable in each industry’s output equation is the Total Demand variable, encompassing exogenous macroeconomic assumptions, consumer spending and investment, and intermediate demand for goods and services by sectors of the economy for use as inputs in the production of their own goods and services.

Elasticities
Elasticity measures the response of one economic variable to a change in another economic variable, whether the good or service is demanded as an input into a final product or whether it is the final product, and provides insight into the proportional impact of different economic actions and policy decisions.
Demand elasticities measure the change in the quantity demanded of a particular good or service as a result of changes to other economic variables, such as its own price, the price of competing or complementary goods and services, income levels, taxes.
Demand elasticities can be influenced by several factors. Each of these factors, along with the specific characteristics of the product, will interact to determine its overall responsiveness of demand to changes in prices and incomes.
The individual characteristics of a good or service will have an impact, but there are also a number of general factors that will typically affect the sensitivity of demand, such as the availability of substitutes, whereby the elasticity is typically higher the greater the number of available substitutes, as consumers can easily switch between different products.
The degree of necessity. Luxury products and habit forming ones, typically have a higher elasticity.
Proportion of the budget consumed by the item. Products that consume a large portion of the consumer’s budget tend to have greater elasticity.
Elasticities tend to be greater over the long run because consumers have more time to adjust their behaviour.
Finally, if the product or service is an input into a final product then the price elasticity will depend on the price elasticity of the final product, its cost share in the production costs, and the availability of substitutes for that good or service.

Prices
Prices are also forecast using an input-output framework. Input costs have two components; labour costs are driven by wages, while intermediate costs are computed as an input-output weighted aggregate of input sectors’ prices. Employment is a function of output and real sectoral wages, that are forecast as a function of whole economy growth in wages. Investment is forecast as a function of output and aggregate level business investment.

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