STORIES THAT INSPIRE: MORRISON SHAFROTH

Year Started Impact Investing: 2008

Primary Investment Focus: Retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds and individual stocks

Background: Morrison (Mo) Shafroth is an independent investor saving for college for three children and retirement. He has been a lifelong investor—he opened an IRA with savings from a high school summer job and invests primarily in individual securities and mutual funds. About 10– 15 percent of his portfolio is in sustainable and impact investing, and he plans to convert a small charitable account into a donor advised fund (DAF) that allows for impact investing.

Impact Trigger

Mo is the owner of a public relations agency in Boulder, Colorado and is busy raising three children with his wife, Barr Hogen. Naturally, investing often has taken the back seat to “day-to-day” life. Mo has worked throughout his adult life, starting with summer jobs in high school and employment in college to pay for incidentals and housing. Growing up, his father and uncle taught him very fundamental lessons about investing: do your research, buy-and-hold investments forever, and save rather than spend.

It was good advice, but the accumulation of assets, rather than the social utility of money was the focus. Money had a singular meaning and a singular purpose, and there was a sense that earning money was a zero sum game.

Money was utilitarian, a tool for personal benefit and it was kept in one bucket. Money for good, such as a UNICEF box at Halloween or passing the plate at church on Sunday, was categorized as charity.

After he moved to Boulder in 2004, Mo was fortunate enough to meet Steve Schueth and George Gay of First Affirmative Financial Network, the founders of the SRI Conference.

He worked for the conference in 2009 and gained knowledge about sustainable and impact investing. It was eye opening to see how investors at the conference were blending the two notions Mo had about money—as an investment that profited himself and his family and as a benefit to the broader society to create more meaning and impact.