Can your investments generate competitive returns and help create meaningful change at the same time? In this episode, TriLinc Global CEO Gloria Nelund speaks with Dr. Lisette Cooper, Vice Chair of Fiduciary Trust International and founder and former CEO of Athena Capital Advisors, for an engaging conversation about career reinvention, entrepreneurship, impact investing, and the power investors have to influence change.
Dr. Cooper share the unconventional path that took her from studying isotope geochemistry at Harvard to a career on Wall Street and ultimately to building Athena Capital into a multi-billion dollar investment firm. Along the way she offers lessons on taking risks, learning from the people around you, embracing pivots, and having the confidence to dream big.
Gloria and Lisette also explore how impact investing has evolved, from helping investors align their portfolios with their values to pursuing market-rate opportunities across areas such as financial inclusion, climate adaptation, fintech, and the energy transition. They also examine another powerful tool available to investors : shareholder engagement. Dr. Cooper shares a remarkable example of how a relatively small investment position helped mobilize billions of dollars in shareholder support and contributed to meaningful corporate action around online child safety.
It’s a conversation about what becomes possible when investors bring together financial discipline, personal values, and a willingness to act, and a reminder that creating meaningful changes doesn’t always require being the biggest investor in the room.
Listen now to Aligning Your Values With Your Portfolio podcast to hear why Dr. Cooper’s advice is simple : don’t be afraid to pivot, dream big, and ask yourself “ What’s yours to do?”