Cindy Bohlen Named Notable Leader in Sustainability by BizTimes. Milwaukee (September, 13 2023). Riverwater Partners congratulates our Director of Responsible Investing and Chief Mindfulness Officer Cindy Bohlen for being named to the inaugural BizTimes Media Notable Leaders in Sustainability list. Cindy Bohlen is the driving force for sustainability and responsibility at Riverwater Partners, leading our…
For Immediate Release. Quarterly PSN Top Guns List published by Zephyr identifies best-in-class separate accounts, managed accounts, and managed ETF strategies Milwaukee (August 24, 2023). Riverwater Partners has been named to the celebrated PSN Top Guns List of best performing separate accounts, managed accounts, and managed ETF strategies for Q2 2023. Riverwater’s Sustainable Value Strategy…
Q2 2023 Market and Strategies Update Macro Economic Update The second quarter of 2023 saw continued gains for equity markets driven by a pause in interest rate increases and stabilization in the banking industry. Bonds were down slightly in the quarter but still have positive returns year-to-date after their drubbing in 2022. Inflation continued its…
Riverwater 2022 Engagement Efforts By Cindy Bohlen, CFA Engagement is the second pillar of Riverwater’s Three-Pillar Approach to Sustainable Investing. As active investors, we seek cooperative engagement with company leadership and board members about improving their sustainability efforts. It is not a one sized fits all approach. Each engagement is unique and encourages each company…
For Immediate Release. Quarterly PSN Top Guns List published by Zephyr identifies best-in-class separate accounts, managed accounts, and managed ETF strategies Milwaukee (May 23, 2023). Riverwater Partners has been named to the celebrated PSN Top Guns List of best performing separate accounts, managed accounts, and managed ETF strategies for Q1 2023. Riverwater’s Sustainable Value Strategy…
2022 Sustainability Report: Responsible Investing Through Sustainable Investing By Cindy Bohlen, CFA In honor of Earth Day 2023, Riverwater Partners is proud to present our fourth annual Sustainability Report: Responsible Investing through Sustainable Investing. The report highlights our Sustainable Investing framework’s role toward fulfilling our responsibility as a fiduciary. The Sustainability Report emphasizes the importance…
Q1 2023 Market and Strategies Update The first quarter of 2023 saw a reversal of fortunes in the stock and bond markets, with solid gains across the board. While Nasdaq and growth stocks led the way, all major indices, including bonds, saw increases. However, the gains were not without some intra-quarter volatility, driven by textbook…
Q4 2022 Market and Strategies Update There is a saying in the financial markets that the Fed will raise rates until it breaks something. This seems especially relevant today when the entire global economy moves trillions of dollars on the words of one-man, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Coal for Christmas The S&P 500 was…
Our Focus on Water Stewardship By Cindy Bohlen, CFA Milwaukee, Wisconsin is located at the confluence of three rivers and Lake Michigan – part of the largest freshwater system in the world. Milwaukee is also gaining recognition as a global hub for expertise on water challenges and solutions. Our location amidst these important bodies of…
David v. Goliath: Why Small Caps Will Slay Market Giants in 2023 By Adam Peck. After more than a decade of being out of favor, we (and our friends at Furey Research Partners) believe that small-caps are poised to become stock market leaders over the next decade. Timing is everything they say. Three reasons why…
Listen, as Riverwater’s head of Investment Advisory, Greg Wait, shares his perspectives on ESG (responsible investing) and data for positive social and environmental impacts and competitive returns on the podcast Person and Planet by Purevant Living. 3 reasons why you should listen to the full episode: Discover how sustainability is incorporated into investments. Learn how…
Greg Wait featured in Purevant Living’s Person & Planet Fall 2022 magazine. Sustainable investing has become a widely accepted approach to generating competitive investment returns while having a positive global impact on people and planet. According to the US SIF Foundation, $17.1 trillion are in sustainable investment strategies as of the beginning of 2020, a…
Listen as Riverwater’s Chief Mindfulness Officer, Cindy Bohlen, shares her journey into sustainable investing on the podcast Her CEO Journey: The Business Finance Podcast for Mission-Driven Women Entrepreneurs. 3 reasons why you should listen to the full episode: Discover how sustainability drives profitability. Learn how you can collaborate with your stakeholders to improve your sustainability.…
Q3 2022 Market and Riverwater Strategies Update Stock and bond market volatility persisted in the third quarter as the Federal Reserve continued to respond to high inflation by raising the Fed Funds rate. So far in 2022, the Fed has increased rates by 300 basis points, from effectively 0% to 3%. The last time the…
Cindy Bohlen, Riverwater’s resident ESG expert, spoke with students at the business school and in sustainability programs at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. UW-Madison Office of Sustainability. In case you missed it: “People, Planet, Profit: Careers in Corporate Sustainability.” Sept. 23, 2023. On Tuesday, September 13th, the Wisconsin School of Business and the Nelson…
Greg Wait, Riverwater’s resident 401(k) expert, spoke with PLANSPONSOR and had some great suggestions how Defined Contribution or DC plans can respond to increasing demand by participants for ESG funds. PLANSPONSOR. Sept. 22, 2022. PLAN PARTICIPANTS CLAIM to want environmental, social and governance investment options in their defined contribution plan lineups. The Schroders 2022 U.S. Retirement Survey…
Riverwater Partners is a Future 50 company! Riverwater Partners is honored to be named a 2022 Future 50 company by BizTimes Media in partnership with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. The Future 50 program, now in its 33rd year, recognizes privately-owned companies in the Milwaukee region that have been in business for at least…
Advisor Perspectives. Sept. 5, 2022. By Connor Doak, CFA. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win.” The environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment community is deep within the third stage. ESG investing has been subjected to brutal headlines, politically motivated attacks…
The Truth About Trying to Time the Stock Market Many investors convince themselves that they know the stock market is going to move one way or the other. They have a “feeling” – a “hunch” – that drives their investment timing. Here’s the deal: the markets* are full of surprises and “feelings” have little to…
The Evolving Use of Collective Investment Trust Funds in 401(k) Plans By Greg Wait, CEBS. Originally posted in 401(k) Wire (subscription required) Aug. 22, 2022. Advisors and consultants are fielding questions from plan sponsors about potential liability for excessive fees. For example, recently a plan sponsor’s CFO told us their fiduciary insurance carrier included a…
Riverwater Partners has been named a 2022 Best for the World™ B Corp™ in recognition of its exceptional positive impact on its customers. B Lab grants the Best for the World distinction to Certified B Corporations (B Corps) whose verified B Impact Scores in the five impact areas evaluated in the B Impact Assessment —…
Q2 2022 Market and Riverwater Strategies Update The volatility experienced in the first quarter of 2022 continued in the second quarter, with all major markets down for the first half of Q2 2022. The S&P 500 officially entered a bear market (defined by a decline of 20% from its all-time-high) as stocks had their worst first half…
Adam Peck was a featured guest on the Money Life Podcast with Chuck Jaffe. Money Life is a daily financial talk show focusing on investing, handling, managing, planning for and protecting your money. Click here to listen to the interview.
SEC Seeks Public Commentary on Climate Rule This spring the SEC voted to advance a set of proposed rules requiring climate disclosure statements for all SEC-registered companies. The rule would mandate public companies to disclose standardized information about their greenhouse gas pollution. Additonally, it would require companies be more transparent with investors about climate-related risks.…
The Journey of Sustainable Investing Our 2021 Sustainability Report celebrates the journey of sustainable investing. The evolution of Sustainable Investing has been and will continue to be a journey. Sustainable Investing originally focused on excluding companies doing harm; today it also incorporates positive screening for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics that reveal companies doing…
Working Part-Time in Retirement In today’s retiree landscape, many folks decide to phase into full retirement by working part-time. It could be reducing the number of hours with your current employer, finding a “job of passion” or even becoming a consultant. Before considering this transition, it’s smart to know about the financial and tax impact…
Q1 2022 Market and Strategies Update This year and Q1 2022 began with hopes that the pandemic would recede and that the global economy could begin the process of getting back to normality. Vladimir Putin had other ideas. Both stock and bond markets were down in the first quarter driven by the war in Europe…
Tax Time Frequently Asked Questions This time of year, we are asked a lot of tax-related questions. As we close out the 2021 tax year, here are answers to our four most “Frequently Asked Questions.” Why am I paying capital gains taxes when I didn't sell anything this year? Where did these gains come…
Tips for Managing Sudden Wealth after Death Death of a loved one is always difficult. Sudden death is devastating and upending. Many of us have either unfortunately experienced it or know someone who has been through it. The overwhelming emotional toll of loss is often magnified by the logistical wake of decisions and paperwork. Grieving…
No more forced arbitration for allegations of sexual harassment or assault In 2019, Riverwater Partners initiated engagements with several of our portfolio companies regarding the use of mandatory arbitration for allegations of sexual harassment or assault. We consider this topic essential to good corporate governance—the “G” in “ESG.” Now, in a remarkable bipartisan effort, both…
by Jan S. Grimm, CFP®, Senior Wealth Advisor The past couple of years has taught us that life’s uncertainties can happen quickly, and often before we have had a chance to plan for them. While the idea of an estate plan may seem daunting, it’s always better to have a plan in place. A…
BizTimes Milwaukee (click here for a no login link) When Quinn Schwellinger, 31, and his wife decided to start building an extra retirement fund to supplement their 401(k)s, they knew they wanted to invest in companies that supported their concern for the environment. “My wife and I believe climate change is real, fundamentally,” said Schwellinger,…
2021 Year End Markets and Strategies Update Having circled the sun one more time, we are reflecting on the markets and ESG in 2021 and looking ahead to what we can expect in 2022. COVID’s Continued Impact. In 2021, the global pandemic dominated economies for a second year and brought with it seemingly lasting changes…
Five Reasons Your Nonprofit Should Invest Sustainably Leaders of nonprofit organizations spend exhaustive amounts of energy ensuring that the mission of their organization is fulfilled, and that their donor mandates are met. What many have not yet considered is how investing their endowments in socially responsible investments, also known as ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)…
Riverwater’s CIO Adam Peck was quoted in Barron’s this month. Adam chatted with Barron’s reporter Daren Fonda about Gentherm, a holding in our SMID strategy. To Daren’s great introduction we’d add that Gentherm–a Michigan company that’s reinvented itself for the EV age–is a solid performer in our ESG evaluations. It’s always good to see sustainability reports coming from small caps–not to…
Corning views sustainability as an opportunity, to increase efficiency while practicing good environmental stewardship.
Greg Wait featured in Marketwatch. Sustainable investing is hot, and when Wall Street sees a trend, it wants a piece of the action. How hot? In 2020, US SIF Foundation, which measures this type of investing, said 33% of U.S. assets under professional management use environmental, social and governance criteria when investing. That’s $17 trillion, or one…
Q3 2021 Markets and Strategies Update Q3 2021 U.S. economic growth is estimated to be slower than it was in Q2 2021, driven by a confluence of events – labor shortages, supply chain issues, spikes in COVID cases and rising energy costs. While COVID cases appear to be declining, we are still waiting longer for…
Research team looks ahead as Riverwater Partners’ SMID Value Strategy reaches five-year milestone Chief Investment Officer Adam Peck says industry’s lack of ESG focus in small-cap value is inconsistent with value-investing mindset Milwaukee, October 13, 2021 – Riverwater Partners’ flagship ESG Small & Mid Cap (SMID) Value Strategy marked its five-year anniversary at the end…
For Immediate Release. Milwaukee (Sept 8, 2021). Riverwater Partners, one of the country’s leading ESG investment firms is pleased to announce the addition of Jan Grimm, as a Senior Wealth Advisor on our Wealth Management Team. Jan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional who has been providing clients with her planning expertise for over 20…
As socially responsible or ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) advisors, Riverwater Partners understands that corporate social responsibility is a journey and not a destination. Individuals, businesses, and government entities all must continually adapt to new normals as the world changes. Climate change is a concept that first emerged, and then only in theory, roughly 50 years…
Marketwatch. August 24, 2021 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a stark warning this month that human-led warming from burning of fossil fuels is causing climate change and removing carbon emissions will cause warming to cease. That makes transitioning to renewable energy like solar power even more urgent. However, reports that China forced Uyghurs to work…
Q2 2021 Market Update Inflation is real. If you have experienced sticker shock this year purchasing food, renting cars, or simply getting your haircut, you are not alone. Used car prices are up over 34% in the last year and rental car rates are now commonly $150 to $400 per day depending on location, compared…
Advisor Perspectives. May 26, 2021. What if a baseball team trades away its all-stars year after year and replaces them with rookies or aging veterans? That’s the problem with using the Russell 2000 as a small-cap benchmark. Better to let your winners run—and benchmark to the Russell 2500 instead. Don’t miss Riverwater co-founder & CIO…
Article featured in Valuewalk. May 24, 2021. For most Americans, 401(k) plan accounts have become the predominant retirement savings vehicle. Currently, more than $6.4 trillion is invested in 401(k) plans across the country, a 73% increase in the past ten years.1 An additional $2.7 trillion is invested in other defined-contribution plans, such as 403(b) plans for educational…
Our 2020 Sustainability Report celebrates the power of resilience. Resilience not only allows people and the planet to respond to crisis, recover and thrive, it allows businesses to do so as well. We witnessed this in 2020 as many businesses that had a clear focus on environmental, social, and governance factors – keys to their resilience –…
It’s tax time! Investors may be thinking of ways to reduce their tax payments. For investors with realized capital gains, investing in Qualified Opportunity Zones (“QOZ”) may be an approach to consider for the deferral or reduction of capital gains tax. Origin & purpose of Qualified Opportunity Zones First, a brief history of the…
Q1 2021 Market Update The first quarter of 2021 saw individual investors participate in the market at levels not seen in over 20 years. Their collective buying helped propel equity markets to new highs. It’s important to remember that markets are auction markets, with fixed supply. Therefore, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices…
Marketwatch. March 24, 2021. By Debbie Carlson 7 ways for ESG investors to profit from sustainable agriculture The original green sector — agriculture — hasn’t been on the radar for environmental, social and governance investors, given industrial agriculture’s heavy dependence on pesticides, fertilizers and genetically modified seeds. But ESG investors are turning their interest to…
March is B Corp Month. At Riverwater, we celebrate our B Corp status every day of every month. Riverwater Partners was founded in 2016 and, as soon as we became eligible in 2018, became a B Corp. We are proud to have been the first registered B Corp in Milwaukee, and the only investment advisor…
WealthManagement.com, March 11, 2021 By Cindy Bohlen Encouraging news arrived late last year about the fast growth of investments managed with attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Seventeen trillion was the headline dollar figure in the latest biannual report from trade association US SIF, which tracks the responsible investing industry. Seventeen trillion represents…
In the wake of last month’s inauguration, we have reason to be optimistic that the incoming administration will enact positive environmental, social and governance measures. And we are already seeing movement in this regard. Riverwater was founded with the mission to make the world a better place by growing wealth through sustainable investing. Guided by…
Advisor Perspectives, February 1, 2021 Burton Malkiel, esteemed author of the classic investing book A Random Walk Down Wall Street is one of the more prominent critics of environmental-, sustainable- and governance-based (ESG) investing. He called ESG investing a “self-defeating” strategy in a recent Wall Street Journal column. But Malkiel and other detractors who claim ESG is a fad…
Marketwatch. January 4, 2021 Environmental, social and governance investing resonates with people who want their investments to align with their values, and the boom in this investing style has fund companies launching more ESG investment vehicles. But these funds may not be as green as investors think they are. ESG investing considers both financial return…
An Unimaginable Year in Review and 2021 Outlook An Unimaginable Year As we review 2020 and position for the future, it goes without saying that the past year was exceptional and unpredictable. Who in their right mind could have imagined a global pandemic, racial injustice protests, the worst economic decline in history and a contentious…
In 2011, only 20% of S&P 500 Index companies issued a sustainability report. By 2019, that figure had quadrupled to 90%. One driver of this change is investor demand. As more people seek to invest in alignment with their values, companies have responded by providing more information. Another driver is recognition by company management teams…
Marketwatch. November 13, 2020 Even as the Trump administration actively discourages environmental, social and governance investing in employer-sponsored retirement plans — a rule the Biden administration may overturn — it’s not like investors had a lot of ESG choices to begin with. When Morningstar looked at lineups for defined-contribution plans like 401(k)s or 403(b)s , the research firm…
[This] response to the COVID-19 health crisis is one example of how ESG efforts undertaken by public companies can benefit not only societies in which they operate, but the corporate shareholders as well. — As COVID-19 continues to spread and severely impact the economy of the United States and other countries around the world, Quest…
Riverwater Partners believes that sustainable companies perform better. Our highly integrative process can enable our clients to invest according to their values while also opening up the possibility of not only no performance disadvantage but, as is our goal over the long term, a performance advantage. For many years, the primary approach taken by “responsible”…
Survival of the Fittest The market rally that began in March continues its historic run. In stark contrast with what is happening on Main Street, Wall Street has performed exceptionally well, with the S&P 500 posting its best two consecutive quarters in the last 20 years! That incredible performance has not been uniform across all…
We recently wrote to the U.S. Department of Labor regarding the rights of shareholders and their ability to proxy vote. You can read what was sent below: — Attention: Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights NPRM Office of Regulations and Interpretations Employee Benefits Security Administration Room N-5655 U.S. Department of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue NW Washington,…
At Riverwater, our work as “active owners” is intended to help bring to bear our clients’ values. In this way, active ownership is a natural extension of our efforts to make investment selections consistent with those values. At times, active ownership can also be a natural extension of our efforts to achieve a strong return…
Re: Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments Proposed Regulation (RIN 1210-AB95) Dear Director Canary: Riverwater Partners LLC is an independent, employee-owned, registered investment advisory firm based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving families, nonprofits, and institutions. We invest in superior businesses with exceptional management teams, attractive valuations, and a focus on social responsibility and sustainability. As fiduciaries…
THE “NEW” NEW NORMAL There are many superlatives to choose from to describe last quarter’s rally. This winter saw the quickest pivot to a bear market in history, followed by an equally rapid rebound in the spring. In fact, we just experienced the strongest 100-day rally since 1933.[1] After the market bottomed on March 23rd,…
June 11, 2020 Worldwide protests over the past weeks spurred by the killing of George Floyd have brought our society to what we can only hope is a tipping point. We recognize that the effects of racial inequalities are pervasive and profound. In addition to unjust and unnecessary violence, disproportionately devastating realities in the Black…
Some investing styles, such as value investing, have proven themselves useful over the course of many decades. By contrast, investing fads are short-lived. They look promising in a particular market context but fade away as the world changes. Examples of such fads include day trading, house flipping, and, in our view, Bitcoin and liquid alternative…
The Arrival of COVID-19 We hope that you, your family, and loved ones are holding up and doing well in these unprecedented times. There is no need to explain in detail what happened to the markets during the first quarter; we are all too familiar with the declines. That said, it was the worst quarter…
Benefits Magazine. February 2020 Greg Wait of Riverwater authored an article for the February 2020 edition of Benefits Magazine that looks into the limited availability of SRI Investments in 401(k) plans and offers solutions to plan sponsors wanting to respond to the increasing demand for SRI investment from participants. Read more
STRAIGHT A’S & SUSTAINABILITY When you bring straight A’s home from school you don’t have much explaining to do. That was 2019 for financial markets. Most major indices were up more than 20% and bonds rallied in concert with stocks. The decade exited with a bang as the S&P 500 closed with a plus 13%…
WINDSHIELDS, BUMPS IN THE ROAD & THE RIGHT TO WATER We were happy to announce the acquisition of Falcons Rock last month and are thrilled to add Greg Wait and Liz Kiefer to the Riverwater team. Riverwater and Falcons Rock share similar philosophies around responsible investing and we believe the combined entities are both stronger…
Record Highs and a Record Win Equity markets notched another fine quarter to close out the first half of the year with gains across the board. The first six months of the year marks the strongest stock market since 1997. There are many reasons markets are hitting all-time highs: employment is strong, the economy just…
Fossil Fuels: Should ESG Investors Seek Divestment or Engagement? Engage vs. divest? The question of whether fossil fuel divestment or engagement encourages energy companies (e.g. Chevron and Exxon Mobil) to move their business models away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy is one that is top of mind to many responsible investors. At Riverwater…
Nice Market Lyft! From a performance standpoint, the first quarter of 2019 was essentially the inverse of the previous quarter; in Q4 2018 it was hard to find a winner whereas this quarter it was hard to find a loser. The market experienced the best first quarter in over 20 years, a sharp 180 from…
Coined in 2005 in a landmark study entitled “Who Cares Wins,” which made the case that embedding environmental, social, and governance factors in capital markets makes good business sense and leads to better outcomes for society, ‘ESG’ is getting a lot of attention. Individuals, particularly young ones, are liking what they hear. Companies are paying…
The Santa Claus Rout The market’s year end was both interesting and historically quite rare. Going back to 1950, December has been historically the best performing month, with an average monthly return of 1.53% compared to a 0.50% return for the other 11. The Santa Claus Rally failed to materialize in 2018 with broad markets…
B the Change™ – inspired by Gandhi’s famous invocation that we must be the change we seek in the world. As a socially responsible investment advisory firm, Riverwater Partners is proud to have officially become the first Milwaukee company and the only investment advisor in Wisconsin (as of September 2018) to achieve B Corp™…
After the school shooting in Parkland, this past February, Bloomberg reported that the Florida Teachers’ Pension Fund was invested in the maker of the same gun used in the massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School.[1] The shooting in Parkland and the countless gun-related tragedies in the last few years have divided the nation in…
It Just Keeps Going and Going. The best way to describe the end of the third quarter is to steal the Energizer Bunny’s tagline, “it just keeps going and going…”[1] The end of September marked the longest running bull market since World War II and the longest most investors have seen in their lifetimes. Equity…
Tariffs and World Cup Football The second quarter equity markets were dominated by headlines surrounding the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs. The tariff talk subsequently turned into action with new tariffs enacted by the US, China, Mexico, Canada, the European Union, India and Turkey. The net effect on US GDP is, at worst, estimated to be…
The first quarter could very well turn out to be a memorable inflection point in this 10-year bull market. The broad indices ended their nine-quarter streak of positive returns, volatility returned with markets moving up or down with much greater magnitude, and the bull market leaders Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google are not looking…
