First Affirmative Financial Network

Infobox_Company
company_name = First Affirmative Financial Network
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan = For your future and the future we share
foundation = 1987
location =
key_people = George Gay, CEO
Steve Schueth, President
Kathleen J. Sutherland, Vice-President
industry = Investment services
products = Financial Services
Investment management
homepage = http://www.firstaffirmative.com

First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC is an independent investment advisory firm that specializes in sustainable investing. The company offers discretionary asset management services through a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving socially conscious individuals and mission-driven institutional investors.

The company offers network membership to financial advisers throughout the United States. These advisers typically share First Affirmative’s interest in sustainable and responsible investing and may recommend First Affirmative’s Sustainable Investment Solutions™ to their clients.

In addition to asset management, First Affirmative has produced and hosted the annual SRI in the Rockies Conference since 1990. [ [http://www.sriintherockies.com/ SRI in the Rockies: The premier industry conference for socially responsible investing in the United States of America ] ] This annual gathering of industry practitioners and related organizations attracts participants from throughout the United States and around the world.

History

First Affirmative Financial Network emerged from a company originally named Personal Financial Planning. Founded by Edward J. Winslow and Kevin Klotz in 1982, the company began offering socially responsible investment portfolios in 1988 when it formed a strategic marketing partnership with Co-op America. Ed Winslow registered Personal Financial Planning, Inc. as a Broker-Dealer with the NASD (now FINRA) in 1988. The name First Affirmative Financial Network was adopted in 1989, the year George R. Gay became Chief Operating Officer. The firm’s advisers registered with Walnut Street Securities, Inc. as their Broker/Dealer in 1990. From 1995 to 1999, the firm was owned by Walnut Street Securities. First Affirmative Financial Network became independent in 1999 and has been fee-only since that time. Registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), First Affirmative’s file number is 801-56587. George R. Gay is the company’s CEO, and Steven J. Schueth is the company’s President. [ [http://www.firstaffirmative.com/media/bios.jsp First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC: FAFN Leadership ] ]

Company Values

In the construction of its portfolios, the firm seeks to utilize socially responsible investment tools such as shareholder advocacy, community investing, and proxy voting. Other tools include negative and positive social and environmental screening.

First Affirmative believes:
*every person has a core set of values that governs his or her actions.
*our shared values outnumber those about which we differ.
*given a choice, most people would choose not to profit from behavior in others that they find unacceptable in themselves.
*fair-minded people respect and tolerate the values of others, even when different from their own.
*bringing personal values and financial decision-making into alignment is a powerful way to encourage behavior that enhances quality of life for all. ["Sustainable Investment Solutions - Integrating Mission and Values into Investment Decision Making" by Steve Schueth 2007]

Locations

First Affirmative’s headquarters is in Colorado Springs, Colorado with a second office in Boulder, Colorado. It supports a network of financial advisors in over 28 states across the USA.

Awards

*First Affirmative’s headquarters in Colorado Springs became LEED® Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2008. [ [http://www.gazette.com/articles/office_28294___article.html/first_green.html Business: Certified green | office, first, green : Gazette.com ] ] The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.
*Signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment [ [http://www.unpri.org/ Principles for Responsible Investment - Official Home ] ] since their inception in 2006.
*Signatory of the CERES Principles [ [http://www.ceres.org/NetCommunity/page.aspx?pid=705 Ceres - Coalition for Sustainable Prosperity ] ] since their inception in 1989.
*Signatory investor to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) [ [http://www.cdproject.net/ Carbon Disclosure Project: Homepage ] ] , which provides the company access to responses and information on the CDP website from over 3,000 companies. [ [http://www.unpri.org/signatories/#im Principles for Responsible Investment | Signatories ] ]

External links

* [http://www.firstaffirmative.com/ First Affirmative Financial Network Homepage]
* [http://www.sriintherockies.com/ SRI in the Rockies]

ee also

*Corporate social responsibility
*Ethical banking
*Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
*Microfinance
*Not just for profit
*Socially Responsible Investment
*Triple bottom line

References