Fiduciary Trust International Releases Research Report on Developing a Sustainable Food System in the United States

Nov 17, 2021 12:00 PM ET

Private Capital Solutions for a Sustainable Food System in the U.S.

Fiduciary Trust International’s  atest research report explores the role of private capital in developing a sustainable land-based food system. Co-authored with Gratitude Railroad (GRR), a community of impact investors, the report outlines the fundamentals of sustainable agriculture, offers a framework for impact assessment, and identifies the investment opportunity set.

The report addresses:

  • The Fundamentals of the Issue Area: Exploration of the underlying dynamics of sustainable agriculture, explaining the scope of the challenge and its importance to human and environmental welfare.
  • The Role of Private Capital: Impact investing is not a panacea. Rather it is often most effective as a complement to traditional philanthropy. The report identifies what, if any, market failures are relevant to sustainable agriculture and the role private capital can play in addressing this important issue area.
  • Impact Assessment: Theis report provides a frame of reference to assess the impact potential of particular investment opportunities.
  • Investment Opportunity Set: The report provides an overview of a subset of investment opportunities that exist within the issue area of sustainable agriculture.

Fiduciary Trust International provides investment management, trust, estate and related services to high net-worth individuals and families, foundations and institutional clients.

Gratitude Railroad (GRR) is an impact investing firm and community network of individual, family and institutional investors committed to solving environmental and social challenges through the profitable deployment of financial, intellectual and human capital.

Fiduciary Trust and GRR joined forces in 2021 to bring together their aligned investor communities on critical topics in sustainable investing. This collaboration allowed both organizations to leverage their respective networks, investor relationships and knowledge bases for joint research projects and events. Fiduciary Trust and GRR identified Sustainable Agriculture as one of the key issue areas of interest to both of their investor communities. Fiduciary Trust and GRR worked together to develop, research and prepare the following Landscape Review.

The Landscape Review was prepared using information collected from a variety of sources:

  • Academic and Industry Research: Fiduciary Trust and GRR consulted both publicly available and privately-sourced research to inform their views.
  • Opinions of Experts: FTI and GRR consulted with their networks of fund managers, investors, consultants, and other issue area specialists.
  • Investment Manager Interviews: While in-depth due diligence on a particular investment manager is beyond the scope of a Landscape Review,

Fiduciary Trust and GRR interviewed investment managers that are actively engaged in Sustainable Agriculture in order to learn more about their strategies and benefit from their perspectives.

About Fiduciary Trust International

Fiduciary Trust International, a global wealth management firm headquartered in New York, NY, has served individuals, families, endowments and foundations since 1931. With over $99 billion in assets under management and administration as of September 30, 2021, the firm specializes in strategic wealth planning, investment management and trust and estate services, as well as tax and custody services. The New York-based firm and its subsidiaries maintain offices in Coral Gables, FL, Boca Raton, FL, St. Petersburg, FL, Radnor, PA, Lincoln, MA, Los Angeles, CA, San Mateo, CA, San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC, Wilmington, DE, and Reston, VA. For more information, please visit fiduciarytrust.com, and for the latest updates, follow Fiduciary Trust International on LinkedIn and Twitter: @FiduciaryTrust.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc.  [NYSE: BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 165 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions.  Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives.  With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has over 70 years of investment experience and over US$1.5 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2021.  For more information, please visit franklinresources.com.