Robert Brooke Zevin Associates is pleased to announce that Robert Zevin was awarded the Social Investment Forum's prestigious Service Award, awarded each year to an individual whose work has advanced the understanding and practice of socially responsible investing. The award was presented at the annual social investment industry conference known as "SRI in the Rockies," which was held October 25-28 in Tucson, Arizona. This award by industry peers is confirmation of Robert's outstanding contribution to the socially responsible investment industry. Four candidates who were nominated for the award and for the second time in the award's 20 year history, the number of votes for the top spot was tied. Also receiving the award this year was Reggie Stanley, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Calvert Group, Ltd.

Robert Zevin said, "I am pleased with this honor, which truly belongs to a vast number of people who have demanded responsible investing and who have provided it. In the forty-three years I have been providing it, I am astonished at how large Socially Responsible Investing has become, and a little alarmed at how mainstream it is becoming. I hope we will always maintain our vision and values for a better world."

Robert is credited by many as being the 'father of socially responsible investing', having combined ethical standards with investing since 1967. At the same time he also pioneered the use of modern portfolio theory to protect his clients against the losses that are so often the result of conventional investment approaches. Robert has mentored and trained many people in the social investing movement as employees and as friends. He started what is now Walden Asset Management in 1975, making it the first explicit socially responsible unit in any bank. He was also a principal architect of the first Calvert Social Investment Fund in 1982. Robert was a leader in the movement to divest from apartheid South Africa. His 1987 testimony in defense of the Baltimore pension funds' right to divest led to a precedent-setting decision. He gave testimony, performed studies and engaged in debates in numerous cities, states and universities.

His activism and commitment to civil disobedience has led to arrests and beatings as well as boardrooms. He has founded, co-founded and led numerous social change organizations such as Resist (against the war in Vietnam), United States Servicemen's Fund (anti-war GI coffee houses), Haymarket Foundation (change not charity), Affirmative Investments (direct community investments), and Shared Interest (support for informal economy in South Africa since 1996). Robert is also a Harvard Ph.D. in economics, who has taught at Berkeley, Columbia and Harvard and published two books and numerous articles about economic history and social policy. For almost a dozen years he has been leading and building Robert Brooke Zevin Associates, a socially responsible investment firm as notable for its investment performance as for its social commitments.

Notes to Editors

Robert Brooke Zevin Associates
Robert Brooke Zevin Associates, Inc (RBZA) was established in 1997. Robert Zevin, founder of the firm, has been a pioneer of socially responsible investing since 1967. Ben Lovell, RABZA's other portfolio manager, has been actively practicing socially responsible investing since 1985. The firm consists of four women and four men managing approximately $250 million in balanced and equity accounts for individuals and institutions. RBZA's investment approach starts from the idea that most professional investors do worse than their benchmarks because they take too much risk. RBZA's first objective is to avoid major losses rather than seeking big gains. For both social and investment reasons, the firms focuses its stock selection on well-managed companies with sustainable business practices. The firm buys shares on behalf of its clients in companies with positive records in human rights, community involvement, the environment, and employee relations and excludes companies involved in tobacco, weapons of war, handguns, and nuclear power plants as well as other client customized screens.

Robert Brooke Zevin Associates

Robert Brooke Zevin Associates

Robert Brooke Zevin Associates was established in 1997. Robert Zevin, founder of the firm, has been a pioneer of SRI since 1967. Ben Lovell, the firm’s other portfolio manager, has been actively practicing SRI since 1985. The firm is made up of four women and four men managing global balanced and equity accounts for individuals and institutions. The firm’s investment approach starts from the idea that most professional investors do worse than their benchmarks because they take on too much risk. Our first objective is to avoid major losses rather than seeking big gains. The firm is expanding its involvement in shareholder initiatives and corporate dialogs, in addition to screening of investments according to client criteria.

More from Robert Brooke Zevin Associates