Our Service

Values + Value®

Balanced Rock Investment Advisors offers two kinds of socially responsible investing: ESG integration and impact investing.

ESG for Public Markets

Environmental, Social and Governance

There are two kinds of socially responsible investing we employ at Balanced Rock. The first is Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing where we combine product or industry exclusions and behavioral data about public companies to customize client portfolios. With exclusions, we can divest from and avoid your choices from a long list of industries such as fossil fuels, defense & weapons or the prison industrial complex. The ESG data looks at how companies perform on nonfinancial behavioral metrics and how they compare to their peers in each industry. We consider metrics like carbon footprint, water stress, supply chain labor standards, corporate behavior, and stakeholder controversies. While we invest in some public companies that make a positive impact, for the most part, socially responsible investing in public markets means eliminating the worst actors and shifting client portfolios towards better actors.

DIAL-In for Private Markets

Direct, Impact, Alternative and Local Investing

It’s outside of traditional public markets where clients can put their money to work for transformative positive impact through our DIAL-In (Direct, Impact, Alternative and Local Investing) strategy. DIAL-In is for clients who are not satisfied by public market ESG investing due to its limited ability to create substantial positive impact. DIAL-In is investing that helps working-class people survive capitalism, addresses climate change and builds solidarity economies. We seek out diverse, high-quality impact investments locally and around the world in impact areas such as:

• Affordable housing and land trusts

• Climate change mitigations, just transition and alternative energy

• Cooperatives and community ownership

• Public health and local food systems

• Racial justice economics and reparations

• Poverty reduction and community resilience

DIAL-In investments include market-rate and below-market-rate opportunities at a variety of risk/return levels. First, these impact investments are thoroughly vetted by Balanced Rock. Then, we discuss vetted investments with clients who have expressed interest. Finally, we’ll make recommendations for specific investments and amounts, walk each client through the funding process and for Wealth Management clients, manage the investments on an ongoing basis.