Views & Updates

Trillium shares why they believe quality companies will continue to perform in an era of waning US influence.

The election of President Donald Trump has brought significant attention to many of the topics that the Shareholder Advocacy team at Trillium Asset Management, LLC (Trillium) has worked on for years – diversity, equity, and inclusion, climate change policy, and other topics for example. This has caused many companies to take actions contrary to Trillium’s preferred policy approaches by rolling back or downplaying their environmental and social initiatives.

The April 2nd announcement of the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs marks a pronounced shift and reorientation of the world’s trade order. Whatever changes to the policy we might see through negotiations, the scale and lack of nuance in this policy shift will have significant implications for how other countries engage with the United States on trade and will likely result in a realignment of trade partnerships across the globe.

Trans people exist in every facet of American life. They may be adults or children. Coworkers or customers. You might be aware that a person identifies as trans, or that aspect of their identity might not be evident. No matter who they are, the trans people in your life deserve to be treated with respect. They deserve to have their needs met. And most of all, they deserve safety. Since trans people are employees, customers, and family members, their daily activities are influenced or mediated in some way by corporations.

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Typically, Q4 serves as one of the busiest periods for Trillium shareholder advocates for launching new engagements and dialogues and filing shareholder proposals for the new proxy season. This year was no exception, as we filed new proposals and engaged companies on topics such as adopting climate transition plans, working to eliminate forced labor and other labor violations in company supply chains and encouraging companies to disclose data on the diversity of their workforce and the success of their initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

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President Donald Trump’s return to power in the United States is consistent with a rise in far-right extremism and political polarization across the globe. Last year, more than 60 countries held national elections amid mounting voter frustrations over issues including the economy, populism, and international conflict.

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We are pleased to announce that Trillium has been recognized as one of the 2024 Best Places to Work in Money Management by Pensions & Investments for the third year in a row! The award recognizes firms promoting a strong workplace culture that supports talent, advocates for progress and drive innovation.

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This summer, Trillium’s Shareholder Advocacy team spent time assessing its past advocacy efforts and began crafting new campaigns to launch in the fall. This season, we’re pleased to share that our focus remains on preserving workers’ rights during union organizing, upholding human rights in the retail supply chain, and encouraging climate-supportive lobbying in the financial sector.

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A collision of politics, geopolitics, monetary policy, and softening labor market data resulted in elevated market volatility in the third quarter. Could we be headed for a soft landing? As the world watches how the US election unfolds, we’re closely monitoring the market to seek quality opportunities in our holdings. Read more in our latest Economic and Market Outlook.

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She will join Trillium’s Portfolio Management team in Boston.

Over 250 years ago, the Industrial Revolution ushered in a new era of productivity, radically improving our quality of life. Today, we are on the verge of yet another economic transformation: the AI Revolution.

What does a Shareholder Advocacy Team do? Read Trillium’s Advocacy Impact Report for the first quarter of 2024 and learn more! You’ll get an update on progress they have made engaging with portfolio holding companies on several key issues, including worker rights and climate change.

Over 60 countries are holding national elections in 2024, meaning nearly half of the world’s population may see significant change. Overall, voters’ moods are quite sour, with authoritarian and populist governments largely ascendant across the world.

While a recession is not clearly in view, Trillium’s first quarter economic outlook explains why we believe there are many potential economic outcomes on the horizon – including current geopolitical risks that require reflection when considering the Fed’s ability to engineer a simple, mid-cycle slowdown or soft landing.

What does a Shareholder Advocacy Team do? Read Trillium’s Advocacy Impact Report for the first quarter of 2024 and learn more! You’ll get an update on progress they have made engaging with portfolio holding companies on several key issues, including worker rights and climate change.

Learn more about the role of shareholder advocacy in reaching an agreement to a path forward for Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United.

Creating a safe and inclusive workplace isn't just morally right—it's also economically beneficial for all. Despite global progress, challenges persist for LGBTQ+ individuals, especially in the workplace. At Trillium, we stand firm in our commitment to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights―at home and abroad. Watch to learn more about our efforts:

In Trillium’s 4Q23 Economic Review & Outlook, Economist & Portfolio Manager Cheryl Smith provides data-driven rationale as to why, despite current equity market prices reflecting a perfect landing engineered by the Fed, reasons remain to protect against market over-exuberance.

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Trillium’s Kate Monahan discusses a key tool of shareholder advocacy employed by Trillium: Proxy Voting. Learn how Trillium seeks to fulfill our fiduciary responsibility to clients by casting our votes with care on proposals that can help shape a company.

One way that investors can create positive impact is by using their platforms to amplify the perspectives of communities disproportionately affected by corporation actions. Trillium has used institutional capabilities for more than 40 years to focus corporate attention on diverse stakeholder voices, like in the case of the Gwich’in people in 2022 and 2023.

Despite resilience in the labor market, risks and stressors continue to accumulate elsewhere. In the face of rising interest rates and a slowing economy, investor psychology is likely to break; Hopes and desires for a soft landing will meet the hard reality of progressive downward growth revisions as declining corporate revenue growth squeezes hiring and employment.

Economist and Portfolio Manager Cheryl Smith appeared on Money Life with Chuck Jaffe to discuss her expectations of both a forthcoming recession and bear market. Listen now at (21:00) mark.

Director of International Advocacy Lisa Hayles discusses how Trillium has engaged with companies to address forced labor in their global supply chains.

While the U.S. economy has been resilient so far, we continue to see many risks, with a wide dispersion of potential outcomes. Read our 2Q23 Economic and Market Outlook and learn where we believe icebergs lurk underwater, and where to go from here.

As advocates for sustainable workplace practices, Trillium’s Shareholder Advocacy team engaged with Union Pacific Corp in effort to advance benefit equality – in this case, paid sick time – for rail workers.

Trillium CEO Matt Patsky Responds

Toxic chemicals can create risks for investors, consumers, workers and the environment. Director of Shareholder Advocacy Susan Baker explains how Trillium works with companies held in our portfolios to reduce their use and invest in sustainable chemistry.

CIO John Quealy and Economist Cheryl Smith discuss Trillium investment strategies’ performance during the turbulent first quarter and provide a market and economic outlook based on the work they have done to date.

Chief Advocacy Officer Jonas Kron discusses how Trillium co-led a group of investors in reaching an agreement with Apple to commission a third-party assessment of its labor practices. Learn more about how persistent shareholder engagement led to this outcome.

As a signatory to the Net Zero Managers initiative, Trillium is committed to building portfolios that enable the transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy. Learn more about our approach to setting, measuring, and communicating a portfolio-coverage target.

Director of Shareholder Advocacy Hyewon Han discusses a recent success in engaging Elevance Health to conduct a racial equity audit. Learn more about what they are and how they can help a company understand and address its internal and external impacts on civil rights and racial equity.

Head of ESG Strategy & Portfolio Manager Elizabeth Levy participated in CERAWeek2023, speaking on a panel regarding constructive dialogue between climate advocates and the energy industry. Read Liz’s key takeaways from the event in her recent opinion piece, “A Sustainable Investor Goes to Houston.”

Jonas Kron joins Equal Time to discuss how Trillium engages with corporate leaders on environmental, social and governance issues to positively impact all stakeholders.

Chief Investment Officer John Quealy provides brief update on 4Q22 investment strategy performance and expectations moving into 2023.

Learn how Trillium plans to position portfolios in 2023 given our expectations for interest rates, inflation, GDP growth and the geopolitical landscape. We also address why we believe that sustainable investing frameworks are better suited to the current environment—and beyond—than traditional investing frameworks alone.

Trillium congratulates Elizabeth Levy, CFA, as the 2022 recipient of @marketsmedia’s WOMEN FINANCE award for Positive Impact!

As the world faces multiple and unsettling unknowns, Trillium continues to closely monitor and interpret economic data to position our ESG portfolios for what may lie ahead.

While small-cap stocks were hard hit during the first half of 2022, August’s earnings season revealed a bounce back for the asset class. What does this mean for Trillium’s ESG Small/Mid Cap Core Portfolio?

Trillium and a group of investors representing over $3.4 trillion in assets sent a second letter to Starbucks on March 15, 2022, urging the company to publicly commit to respect workers’ rights to organize into a union and to swiftly negotiate fair and timely collective bargains with workers should they vote to unionize.

What does it take to lead an ESG impact investment firm? Learn more about Matt Patsky’s journey to becoming Trillium CEO, how he defines success, and what’s next for the firm in CIO Views’ “The 10 Most Inspiring CEOs to Look Out for in 2022”

Portfolio Manager Patrick Wollenberg, CEFA, provides an overview of the ESG Global Equity portfolio and discusses potential challenges and opportunities for the strategy presented by the current macro environment, driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In 1982, Trillium was founded as one of the first firms dedicated to socially responsible investing. Learn more about our history of achieving “firsts” and how we continue to break new ground today.

Elizabeth Levy, CFA, Head of ESG Strategy and Portfolio Manager, discusses how women are changing the financial services landscape―in ESG investing and beyond―with a panel of accomplished women investment professionals.  

CIMA and CFP continuing education credit is offered upon completion of the program.

Trillium Chief Investment Officer John Quealy shares his perspectives on market challenges of January 2022 and his expectation of continued volatility through first quarter. Also announced―key promotions on the investment team.

On February 1, 2022, Trillium Asset Management LLC sent a letter to New York Times Company CEO Meredith Levien urging the Company to cease and refrain from actions that may violate federal labor law, to respect the final outcome of the Times Tech Guild election without further delays, and to swiftly come to a fair agreement with the Times Guild. At this time, it appears the company is attempting to limit the size and scope of the union and delay a vote.

Trillium CEO Matt Patsky shares what it means to be a B-Corp, how stakeholders benefit, and why he believes more financial firms haven’t filed for B-Corp status.

For many years, Trillium has been concerned about bank overdraft policies. After filing a shareholder proposal with Bank of America in 2018, we engaged regularly with the company to discuss these concerns. In January, we were very pleased when they announced changes to their overdraft policies.

Trillium is happy to announce it has successfully withdrawn its climate change focused shareholder proposal at J.B. Hunt Transport this week based on multiple conversations with the company and their 2021 CDP statement, which give us confidence that in 2022 it will commit to setting science-based targets.

Trillium’s findings in this white paper give hope companies are moving in the right direction, providing greater avenues for voter access for employees, but there is much work to be done.

Cheryl Smith, economist and portfolio manager, dispels the myths and addresses the advantages of active ESG investing in today’s marketplace.

In April 2021, Trillium joined other leading global asset managers in signing onto the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) Initiative, formally pledging to align our portfolios with the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. By joining NZAM, we pledged to make our own commitments to move our equity strategies towards a net zero greenhouse gas emission world. Therefore, in the run-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, we are setting our commitment in an effort to do our part to help global progress be made this decade to slow and end GHG emissions and climate change.

Today over 100 investors representing over $1.6 trillion released a letter calling on Congress to pass a comprehensive and permanent federal paid family and medical leave program by the end of 2021. The letter, organized by Trillium and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), was supported by domestic and global asset management firms, state treasurers’ offices and pension and faith-based funds, and makes the economic case for passing a federal paid family and medical leave policy as a part of the BuildBack Better budget legislation pending in Congress.

In April, Trillium led a group of investors calling on the EPA to use its authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to immediately restrict mine waste disposal in wetlands, rivers and streams within the Bristol Bay watershed.