We are thrilled to share that Dan Nielsen joined CIIC’s Advisory Board. Dan has focused on sustainable, impact, and ESG investing since 2005 and currently serves as the Head of Product Management, ESG Indexes at Morningstar. You can read Dan’s full bio on our Team page, but we thought we’d take a deeper dive and share a conversation between Dan and CIIC’s Advisory Board Co-Chair, Jake Barnett, about why Dan joined CIIC and what he hopes to contribute to our community moving forward.
Jake Barnett: For those in our community who don’t know you, what was your introduction to CIIC?
Dan Nielsen: I met John O’Shaughnessy (CIIC’s Founder and Advisory Board Co-Chair) many years ago through my work with Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS). In September 2015, I invited John to speak at the quarterly ESG breakfast discussions that I co-host. This discussion topic focused on Catholic impact, and John shared the story of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary’s impact investing efforts. I stayed connected to you and John, and quickly became involved in the CIIC community. In 2019, I was a member of the committee that drafted the Catholic Impact Investing Pledge and in 2020, I joined the Participation & Outreach Committee as a co-chair assisting in planning our quarterly Community Forums. I’m very excited to deepen my involvement in CIIC as an Advisory Board Member.
JB: Having been involved in the sustainable investment space for 17+ years, you’ve participated in and helped lead many different initiatives. What felt different or impactful about CIIC that led you to join the Advisory Board?
DN: Having worked with CIIC in different capacities for 3½ years, I had a close relationship with the people involved and a good understanding of its mission to create positive impact. Within the realm of socially responsible investing and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) integration, there’s a lot of investing to avoid bad things and negative screens without an intentional consideration for creating change. It’s important for investors to recognize that their assets can be used to create a positive impact in the world. It’s not just the financial impact, but it’s also the social and environmental impact. I find CIIC’s mission of creating opportunities to make it easier for others to invest impactfully motivating and inspiring.
JB: What new focus, strategy or idea are you excited to champion within the CIIC community?
DN: Two things come to mind. The first is education: providing resources and opportunities for Catholic institutions wherever they are in their impact investing journey. I want CIIC to serve as a resource to help them connect with others so they can share wisdom and experiences and can learn from one another. The second is helping Catholic institutions connect with opportunities for impact investment. It’s not only about educating investors on what the issues are and how impact investing can help address those issues, but what to do with that knowledge and how to implement it. It’s one thing to read a book, but it’s another to put it into action - we need to demonstrate how you go about investing impactfully, not just why you should do it. I think that's a unique value that CIIC brings to its participants.
JB: For Catholic institutions at any stage in their impact investing journey, what encouragement would you give them?
DN: When you first start getting involved, don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. This is a journey, and it’s not about switching the entire portfolio to impact right away. It’s about learning, growing, connecting with others, and taking that first step. It’ll take time. Everybody that is participating in CIIC is on the same journey and they have their own experiences to share.
JB: You’ve not only participated in ESG and impact investing broadly, but you also have previous professional experience in the Catholic community specifically from your work at Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS). What do you think is unique about the opportunity for Catholic investors to incorporate impact into their portfolios?
DN: First and foremost, the community that Catholic investors have. Many impact investors don't have a sense of community the way that the Catholic community does. Participating in a community that is supportive and encouraging is critical. There is also an inherent sense of mission because of Catholic Social Teaching, which calls us to not only avoid doing wrong in the world, but to try to create good. Coming together to help each other pursue that shared mission can be really powerful.
JB: Where do you hope CIIC will be in three years? What will our organization have accomplished that you are excited and proud to have participated in as a board member?
DN: I hope CIIC will have become a sought-out community and reference for Catholic institutions who are interested in exploring ways to use their investment assets as an additional way to accomplish their mission. CIIC will be a community of members and participants that are helping one another on this journey. Most importantly, we’ll be able to point to the positive impacts we are creating in this world through the investments that our members have made.
