Tony Berkley | Former Vice President, Strategy and Impact Prudential Financial

HOW DID YOU GET INTO IMPACT INVESTING?   

Impact investing found me. I was working at an organization with a strong mission and good corporate values. However, only a small portion of the institution’s assets was actively deployed towards its mission. So I joined a group of insiders and we began the process of improving the situation.

IS THERE ONE THEME WITHIN THE SDGS THAT YOU SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY OR SYMPATHIZE WITH? 

I am haunted by what is not in the SDGs, the absences and gaps. For example, which goal pertains most directly to Covid-19? How did we miss that one? The SDGs were written in 2015 in a time of optimism. Who now feels optimistic? It is evident they will need to be rewritten.

WHAT DIFFERENTIATES IMPACT INVESTING FROM TRADITIONAL INVESTING, IN YOUR OWN WORDS?

All investments create social and environmental impact. Impact investors are those investors who have developed tools to analyze the impact and optimize returns.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS?

I am speaking to you from the New York metropolitan area and let me tell you our lives are thoroughly disrupted. COVID-19 has closed our schools and shut our offices. Essential workers are being forced to take health risks they cannot be compensated for. In the West, we have uncontrolled wildfires that have burnt millions of acres. The smoke – 3500 miles away – has been clearly visible from my yard. Even today a tropical storm is threatening the Southern coast, one of many storms that have battered our coasts this season. And we have witnessed great protests in our cities against police violence with no sense of justice.

The work of impact feels more urgent, more vital. It matters. And every week it seems to matter more.