NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, October 29, 2012

MEET RON CORDES
Ron D. Cordes is a man on a mission to change the landscape of impact investing. He is the co-chairman of Genworth Financial Wealth Management (NYSE:GNW), which is responsible for over $25 billion in assets under management. He is also on the board of Impact Assets, a non-for-profit financial service firm focused on impact investments. Ron is driven by an entrepreneurial spirit. He built a financial asset management business, which he sold to Genworth in 2006. Now he has expanded his vision towards impact investing.

In my recent interview with him, I asked him who was the new change agent in impact investing. He said, the financial advisor.

NEW CHANGE AGENTS: FINANCIAL ADVISORS
Ron is familiar with working with financial advisors. He has done it all his professional life. And what he knows is that most clients seek insights from their financial advisors. According to Hope Consulting, 27% of high networth individuals seek advice from their financial advisors. And according to the same report, over 48% of high networth individuals are interested in impact investment opportunities. Large houses are tuned into this trend and pioneers like Morgan Stanley have launched impact investment platforms.

Other leading institutions like CalPERS are integrating impact criteria into their asset allocation and leading minds at firms like Imprint Capital are helping other fund managers gain access to this market.

The question is with such significant interest from investors to participate in impact investing, why is the total amount of assets under management in this field still relatively small. Ron says that it boils down to the empowering financial advisors with know-how.

In his view, financial advisors lack a voice when it comes to impact investment.