Fireside Chat with Eric Stephenson & Jenn Kenning

On Monday, Eric Stephenson, Director of Operations and Client Service at Align Impact, was named to InvestmentNews 2021 40 Under 40 list. This distinction is wonderful and hugely deserved, and yet, for those of us that have had the privilege to work closely with Eric, it comes as no surprise. Eric has an unwavering commitment to society working for everyone, he is an extraordinaire at serving clients and meeting them where they’re at, a thought leader in the impact investing field and an ever-evolving student of the wealth management arena. He is not only fiercely pushing the boundaries of what a better and more inclusive world will look like, but he puts it into action. Eric is an invaluable resource and a visionary to Align and what we are building.

Like so many working in impact investing, Eric’s story of how he got to this point in his life and career has been a source of inspiration for me and for our clients. I’m a believer in taking the time to reflect on where you’ve been and where you’d like to go. So, I recently sat down with Eric for a fireside chat, using this moment in his career to do just that. For those of you who may not yet have had the pleasure of working or spending time with Eric and witnessing his true leadership across many aspects in the impact investing industry, I’m sharing below some of the excerpts from our conversation. I hope that the discussion inspires you in some way along your own journey to impact.

 JENN KENNING

Jenn: First, congratulations on the award. I think you know how proud I am of your being recognized like this – as is the whole team at Align. I also think one of the things I love about working in impact investing is the journey each person takes to get here. They’re all so unique and so many of them, like yours, are multifaceted and inspiring. Yours certainly is. Can you share some of the road you traveled to get here? 

Eric: Sure. I like to think of it as 3 T’s that led me to impact investing – time, talent, and treasure, but not in that order. 

Let’s start with ‘talent’. When I was 14 years old, my grandparents took me to Puerto Rico to visit family and I had a blast running around the island with my cousins. After saying our goodbyes, I asked my grandfather when they were coming to visit us in New Jersey, and he said, “when they save up enough, they’ll come.” Youthfully optimistic, it was in that moment I decided to pursue a career in finance (primarily to help my cousins save up enough to come visit!). I went to Temple University as a finance major and was fortunate to have amazing career counselors who said if I wanted to get into finance, I had to get the SEO [Sponsors for Educational Opportunity] internship: an intensive summer program to train and groom Black, Hispanic, and Native American undergrads for a successful career on Wall Street. It became a special community with an ethos of, “it’s not about you, it’s about those that came before you, and those that come after you.” SEO helped jump start my career in finance and is the reason why I’m so passionate about experiential learning and talent-development programs.

Regarding ‘time,’ for the most part, I was going down a traditional finance path: I went to school to study the topic, got a degree, got a job in corporate finance, and navigated my way to private equity. Then my concept of ‘time’ changed when a dear friend of mine was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that took his life shortly thereafter. It was an emotional time that drove me to obsessively think, “if my time on this earth is limited, what am I supposed to be doing?” I didn’t know the answer then, and in many ways I still don’t, but it drove me to dedicate my time (and talent) to things that felt more immediate, purposeful, and of value.

And finally—treasure. I actually toyed around with the idea of going into academia because of how impactful my educational experiences were and ended up getting a master’s degree in education administration from University of the Pacific. During that time, I had the good fortune of meeting Ron Cordes. He was one of the university trustees, had built a managed accounts platform called AssetMark, spent 30+ years in the financial services industry, and was one of the early thought leaders of impact investing. He introduced me to the concepts of impact investing and social entrepreneurship, and something just clicked. With my limited time on this earth, I was going to use my talent to direct treasure to solutions for our world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges, in honor of those that came before us, and with an eye to the generations that come after us. I have the privilege of doing just that at Align Impact. One of my favorite quotes is, “Quien a buen árbol se arrima buena sombra le cobija,” or, “if you’re close to a good tree, you’re shaded well.” At Align I’m blessed to be surrounded by some of the most passionate clients, work with brilliant coworkers, and collaborate with some of the best partners, to move capital to places it’s needed most. If there is a metaphorical tree, it feels like I’m standing pretty close to it!

So that’s my story—or at least some of it—that’s what led me to impact investing.  

Jenn: Thank you for sharing that with us, Eric. And it comes full circle because Ron is chairman of Align’s board, and I think every day how lucky we are that time, talent and treasure all lined up and somehow got you to Align!

One of the things I find so inspiring about working with you is how much time you spend giving back to others – not just here but outside of work, too. In addition to your SEO advisory work, you are co-chair of the Cordes Foundation, a member of the advisory board for Duke University's CASE i3 Initiative on Impact Investing, and a due diligence mentor at Harvard University's Initiative for Responsible Investment. And you still somehow find time to lecture at colleges and universities on impact investing. It's no wonder why you’re a 40 Under 40!

Jenn: Let’s talk a little bit about your perspectives on impact investing. You’ve now been working in impact investing for many years. What continues to excite you about the sector?

Eric: Honestly and without hesitation, it’s data, data, data. That might sound surprising as you might think the first thing I’d say is the impact our clients are having on the world, but when you think about it, data is really at the heart of everything driving impact investing forward. This goes for performance-driven data about the financial outcomes of impact investing as well as better measurement tools on the impact outcomes side. Ultimately what impact investing needs to be able to do is to attract mainstream institutional and individual investors to demonstrate that you can invest in double or triple bottom line investments and not sacrifice returns.

Every month there is more and more data showing that clients want to invest this way which in turn is driving more asset managers to offer impact investing products. The ecosystem is starting to hold everyone accountable for the impact that you’re going to have on the environment, society and on better corporate practices. We’re proving it, we’re tracking it and showing that impact can actually work. And I find this really inspiring.

Jenn: What advice would you give to someone starting out in this space?

Eric: Well in many ways I think that impact investing is about being present for your decisions. For an investor it means thinking about the consequences of your investments – not just about the investments themselves. For those of us that work in the space, you should ask yourself how close you want to be to the actual impact that’s happening on the ground.  

For example, someone in the Peace Corps is about as close as you can be to the field work that’s happening whether it’s climate related, healthcare related and so on. Whereas the other extreme might be working in a fund of funds where you’re behind a desk and sort of aggregating investment strategies from others. This isn’t to say one is more effective or admirable than the other. Asset managers – particularly those on the institutional side are key to helping impact investing gain widespread adoption. So what you need to do is figure out where along that impact spectrum you want to be.

Jenn: Can you talk more specifically about careers in wealth management today? What advice would you give to someone considering wealth management and financial planning? What skills might they need?

Eric: Well for starters, this is a heavily client-focused business and career and there’s certainly no instruction manual for understanding a client’s value. You need to be able to be vulnerable, acknowledge that you don’t know things – and say so – and be open to learning about what your clients are passionate about. Every client is different and you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and learn about these things so you can speak knowledgeably about them to your clients.

But you can’t be an expert on everything either. So you need to be able to surround yourself with experts who can fill in the gaps so you can understand exactly what a client needs to achieve with their portfolio and how to get there.

Jenn:  I learn a lot and get inspired from watching you interact with clients. You bring such a highly personalized approach to all of your client interactions. You take the time to get to know clients at a deep level, and you bring your whole self to the process – your own personality, your own sense of humor. As a result, clients really relate to you. Your ability to establish trust so that they feel comfortable opening up to you about their lifestyle and decision-making – this is so important to the process. Impact investing is a personal journey for all of us and it takes a special person to be able to help clients see, express and ultimately realize their dreams for what their capital can do for their lives and for the greater good.

So on behalf of Align’s clients and our entire team here at Align, thanks for who you are and all that you do to make the world a better place.  Congratulations on this award. It’s really well deserved.