Imfino News

BOSTON, June 19, 2018 — With a market estimated at more than $8.72 trillion in sustainable, responsible, and impact investing, the sector is gaining momentum as investors increasingly seek to align their investments with their values and philanthropy. To help advisors address their clients’ growing interests, Fidelity Charitable, the nation’s second largest grant-maker, is using its Practice Management program to educate advisors about impact investing trends and approaches, and how to integrate impact investing into their practice to better serve their clients.

“Impact investing has reached a tipping point—a Fidelity Charitable study finds that over 70% of Millennials and Gen-Xers have already made an impact investment but many still crave education,” said Krystal Kiley, vice president of Practice Management at Fidelity Charitable. “Advisors play a key role in helping clients understand the different approaches available to them to weave impact through philanthropic and practical portfolio strategies.”

The Practice Management program at Fidelity Charitable is a product agnostic educational and consulting program that helps advisors incorporate the why, what, and how of charitable planning to grow their practice and better serve clients. In addition to client materials, tools, and other resources, the charity has made available educational seminars that offer technical strategies, practical how-to’s, and continuing education credits, all of which come at no charge. The education and materials are designed for a broad range of advisors, including RIAs, broker-dealers, CPAs, trust and estate attorneys, and other financial intermediaries. Launched in July 2016, the Practice Management program has educated nearly 10,000 advisors to-date.

As part of the program, Fidelity Charitable introduced a new module on impact investing. The CE-eligible session focuses on definitions and trends of impact investing, approaches and case studies to working with clients, how to uncover different client motivations, and best practices for building an impact strategy. Demand for the impact investing webinar was high; for those advisors who missed it, Fidelity Charitable has made the recording available online and can also provide it as an in-person workshop with CE credit offered.

“As an advisor, understanding a client’s values is key for any practice, and impact investing is an effective opportunity to thoughtfully engage. This course explained the intersection of philanthropy and impact investing across asset classes and risk spectrum, helping me, as an advisor, to offer additional and innovative ways to create impact with my clients’ charitable dollar. This sort of education is invaluable, enabling advisors to provide a holistic approach to wealth management,” said Sara D. Boyd, portfolio manager, Highwater Wealth Management LLC, an attendee of the webinar.

The impact investing seminar is one of the five practice management courses available from Fidelity Charitable. The other topics include Charitable Essentials, Beyond Cash: Giving Complex Assets, and Family Philanthropy.

About Fidelity Charitable

Fidelity Charitable is an independent public charity that has helped donors support more than 255,000 nonprofit organizations with $30 billion in grants. Established in 1991, Fidelity Charitable launched the first national donor-advised fund program. The mission of the organization is to grow the American tradition of philanthropy by providing programs that make charitable giving accessible, simple and effective. For more information about Fidelity Charitable, visit https://www.fidelitycharitable.org.