Finally! A 401k plan with social impact investments

401k plans are the yeomen of the investment world, doing hard work behind the scenes with little fanfare or notice. Of course, in some cases, these workhorses are neglected or are poorly utilized. Sparsely maintained and improperly allocated, their strength is wasted as they toil in silence. 

In the best circumstances, they are practically invisible, tax-deferred and dull wealth builders. No one gets excited about their 401k. Even the best mix of American Funds can hardly get the blood pumping...  Unless something is wrong, of course. 

And much is wrong...  Besides undersaving, low participation, misallocated money and excessive costs, many plan participants also get no advice whatsoever on what to do with their money.  And now, even what appeared to be right (the mutual funds themselves) appear to be wrong. 

Recently, plan participants have begun to  scrutinize the holdings of their 401k mutual funds. Finding them "loaded to the gills" with the likes of BP, Halliburton, Wal-Mart and Exxon-Mobil, they are requesting more " responsible" options for their retirement assets. Plan sponsors (the employers) are finding decent performance among the SRI fund crowd and are increasingly including them in their plans. And so, the path is being paved for sustainable 401k's to accompany the newfound sustainability goals of corporate America. 

It's clear that investors increasingly care about the "footprint" of their investments. This is a big trend. In fact, JPMorgan believes that so-called "impact investments" (profit seeking enterprises, but with a positive social benefit) will eventually be a $1 trillion asset class. 

Unfortunately, "social impact" funds have been off limits to retirement plans. Their long term, illiquid nature and short track records frankly make them unsuitable for investment plans that need a high degree of credibility. 

But what if investors could have the same "sustainable" mutual funds in their 401k's and participate in social impact partnerships?  Would this be the best of both worlds?

Boardwalk Capital, the South's only Certified B Corporation investment advisor, has designed a 401k program that includes a suite of both sustainable and conventional funds while simultaneously creating a "social impact charitable foundation" to invest in impact partnerships. The foundation is funded with 20% of the firm's profits, allowing the firm's clients to participate in the "impact" aspect of these investments without putting capital at risk. 

All plan participants are regularly informed of the foundation's investments and their social impact. They even get to weigh in on the selection of the specific investments. Yet their fees are no higher than those of conventional plans. 

Revolutionary?  Maybe. 

Inspiring? We hope so. 

Fun?  Darned right!