Friends Fiduciary on Racial Justice

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Friends: As a Quaker investment management company, we at Friends Fiduciary stand in solidarity with communities of color, particularly Black communities, across the country. We mourn Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, George Floyd in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and the countless others that came before them. The profound racial injustice that has always existed in this country has become even more stark in the face of the global pandemic and the resulting health and economic crises that have disproportionately impacted Black communities and communities of color.

As Quaker investors we are accustomed to making the moral case for corporate change on issues of economic, environmental, and social justice. We have successfully advocated for companies to tie diversity, equity, and inclusion metrics to executive compensation, to publicly release data on the race, ethnicity, and gender of their employees, and to diversify their boards. Through our work with companies on private prison financing, predatory lending, and hiring practices, we have used our leverage to catalyze changes in some corporate policies and practices that have particularly impacted people of color.

We believe a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive economy is essential to the long-term success of our society and economy, and therefore our portfolios. Organizationally, we must model these same principles in our own operations and be active advocates for undoing structural racism.

We will:

Continue to recruit diverse candidates for our board and staff because we have seen the positive impact a range of experiences and perspectives has made in the success of our organization 

• Continue to seek and hire diverse investment managers, vendors, and service providers 
• Continue to conduct staff training on systemic racism to better serve our constituents and to create a more inclusive working environment
• Continue to engage with public companies on a range of issues related to racial justice

As Friends we are called to examine and address systemic inequality in the corporate sector, in our portfolios, and in the way we do our work. We are very grateful for your confidence in and your commitment to our work. Your investments with Friends Fiduciary support Quaker values in the world and help us make a difference together.

from William Schmidt and Jeffery Perkins, Friends Fiduciary (6/10/2020)