Babson College Adopts Responsible Lens to Investment Strategy

WELLESLEY, Mass., April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Babson College, the global leader in entrepreneurship education, announces that its Board of Trustees voted in February 2021 to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) factors into investment decisions. With this decision, Babson will focus on identifying and pursuing investments that align with its values of sustainability, diversity and the drive to make an impact on people and the planet.

Babson College defines responsible investment as an active strategy and practice to incorporate ESG and DE&I factors in investment decisions and active ownership. This stems from the belief that diverse teams produce better outcomes for organizations and investment strategies. Therefore, investing in a way that integrates ESG and DE&I values will lead to enhanced returns and reduced risk.

"We think this is the right time, and we think this is the right thing for Babson," says Bruce Herring '87, P'19 a Babson trustee and chair of Babson's Investment Committee which led the College's efforts in adopting ESG and DE&I. "We believe this adoption is aligning the objectives of the endowment with the mission of the College."

Over the past seven years, the endowment at Babson has performed better than 98% of endowments of similar size. Just last year, the College's portfolio, which has a total value of more than $500 million, realized a return of 14.1%.

Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA'92, said "Babson's mission is to empower entrepreneurial leaders to create lasting social and economic value. Entrepreneurial leadership needs to extend everywhere, including to the investments we make as an institution."

Looking ahead, the Investment Committee will use Babson's resources to promote ESG and DE&I values within the asset management industry by encouraging its partners to incorporate these principles into their investment decision-making process and, in the management, and operations of their firms.

About Babson College
Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader of Entrepreneurship of All Kinds^®. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action^® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

SOURCE Babson College