Investing with Purpose: How to Align Your Money with Your Social Views

Investing with Purpose: How to Align Your Money with Your Social Views

Years of social turmoil have created a heightened awareness of deep systemic injustices that exist globally. At a time when so many people are asking themselves what they can do to improve any of it, they have found that in the battle against capitalistic greed, their wallet is one of the most powerful weapons they have.


While the pandemic brutalized everyday workers, the richest 1% nabbed nearly two-thirds of all new wealth created since 2020 - a whopping $42 trillion. This amounts to nearly twice as much money as the remaining 99% of the world’s population. The enormity of this wealth transfer has created a burdened and unsustainable economic system that, understandably, has everyday people thinking about their financial stability.

With the threat of a recession constantly looming many have opted to shrink their budgets and curb spending where they can, while others became more focused on retirement and investments. So when you’re trying to not perpetuate the same out-of-control economic system but also make some decent financial decisions, what are you to do? That’s where social impact investing and morally-aligned money management come in.

What is social impact investing?

Social impact investing is simply aligning your investments with businesses and organizations that also align with your social views so that your hard-earned money is not only working for you but also benefitting the causes you want to support. The idea is that you can do well and do good at the same time. More and more people are now becoming much more savvy about how to invest ethically.

Think about what kind of investor you’d like to be

Are you looking to invest for the sake of the planet? Looking at the labor practices of companies and how they treat their employees? Corporate governance (i.e. the board of directors of a company, how they run that company)? Determining what kind of places you’d like to invest in is half the battle, but so is doing some internal self-reflection to determine what is represented in the places you invest in.


Do your research

We know, we know - this is probably the internet’s favorite line when it comes to attempting to win an argument, but the same holds true for investing effectively in line with your social views. Looking into startups, nonprofits, and organizations working on tackling issues close to your heart is a surefire way to put your money where your mouth is to make some real, lasting change. Our favorite resource? Latine finance experts dedicated to advancing our community, SUMA.


Participate in impact banking

Impact banking is just one of the many ways that you can house your money but with a more actionable approach. Move your money out of banks that practice predatory lending or use unethical practices and put it into financial institutions with social justice at the forefront of their priorities.

This includes B Corporations (banks meeting certain metrics that benefit individuals/the environment and have certain levels of both public transparency and accountability by B Lab, a non-profit), Minority Depository institutions (credit unions or banks that are at least 51% owned by certain minority communities, serve mostly minority communities, or have a minority-majority Board of Directors), and Community Development Financial Institutions (banks or credit unions that divert the majority of their financial activities to investing into low-income, underserved areas, with their boards representing those same communities they invest back into).

There are also now alternative banks that are 100% focused on community impact. There are lots of options in the impact banking department.


Become familiar with ESG ETFs.

We know, lots of acronyms, right? ETF stands for "exchange-traded funds," giving investors a way to invest in social issues. These ETFs include environmental, social, and corporate governance considerations (which is where the "ESG" comes from) into their investment approach. There are many options for ESG ETFs you can put your money in, but this list from Bankrate outlines some of the best.


SRI funds can help you achieve your goals.

Socially responsible investing ("SRI") is a part of the ESG investment strategy but focuses more on how businesses run and impact their communities. When you approach your investing with an SRI strategy, you’re investing more into corporate social responsibility or how much a business looks to behave ethically to all of its key stakeholders, the environment, and the market itself.

By investing this way, you’re looking to put your dinero to the challenge of making the world a better place - one dollar at a time.

Like this article? Be sure to join the Luz Membership Community, where we host online events, workshops, and more on everything from finance to wellness.

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Have you ever met someone who seems overly confident, self-centered, or even downright rude? Maybe they constantly talk about themselves, disregard your feelings, or even manipulate situations to their advantage. And, if you're anything like us and countless other Latinas, you might've thought, is this person just a purebred a**hole, or are they a narcissist?

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Image by Sayuri Jimenez.

Nathalie Molina Niño has never been one to shy away from breaking barriers, and now, she’s focusing her attention on a new mission: demystifying corporate boardrooms for women, especially Latinas. Molina Niño is the President of Known, an asset management and financial services firm, a veteran tech entrepreneur and builder capitalist, and a board member at the iconic lingerie Brand, Hanky Panky, and others.

Like many corporate boards, Hanky Panky hadn’t publicly disclosed its board composition until recently. After the brand survived the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Molina Niño decided it was time for more women, specifically more Latinas, to know what it means to be on corporate boards.

Coincidentally, the decision to finally be more vocal about this topic aligned with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which served as the perfect kick-off to the work.

"Something that rarely gets talked about and I think almost gets kept opaque by design is boards,” she explains in a recent Instagram announcement. “[This Latinx Heritage Month], that’s what I’ll be talking about.” Her goal? To equip more Latinas with the knowledge they need to navigate onto for-profit boards, where they can thrive and build multi-generational wealth.

For-profit corporate boards often feel like an exclusive club. And in many ways, they are, especially for Latinas, who hold the smallest percentage of board seats in Fortune 500 companies compared to other racial groups. According to the latest report from Latino Board Monitor, while Latinos hold 4.1% of these board seats (compared to 82.5% held by white people), only 1% go to Latinas. Molina Niño, a first-generation American of Ecuadorian and Colombian descent, is part of this boardroom minority.

When asked about her experience as a Latina board member during a recent Zoom interview, she said, “It’s been lonely. There’s not a lot of Latinas on boards.” She went on to explain that even serving on boards of Latina-founded businesses gets lonely because, “A lot of the times, people who serve on their boards represent their investors and, as a result, [...] you still don’t see a lot of Latinas on those boards.”

This lack of representation drives Molina Niño’s determination to increase Latina presence in corporate boardrooms. By sharing her insights, she hopes to give Latinas a roadmap to claim their seats at the table. “If you don’t know where to go, it’s impossible to figure out how to get there,” she says.

The Road to the Boardroom

Getting onto a for-profit corporate board isn’t an overnight achievement, but it’s not an unattainable dream either. People often think you need to be a CEO or have a certain type of background, but that’s one of the biggest myths about boards in Molina Niño’s experience. What they’re really looking for is expertise — whether that’s in finance, marketing, sustainability, or even technology. If you have that expertise, you’re already an asset. It’s simply a matter of which road you should take.

Understanding what boards are and how they operate is key to unlocking opportunities. For-profit boards serve as the governing body for companies, overseeing direction and financial stability, and guiding CEOs and executives in decision-making. But Molina Niño emphasizes that not all for-profit boards are created equal.

“There are two kinds [of for-profit boards] [...]. There’s the publicly traded business board and then, on the privately held side, there are, I would argue, two types of boards [...] the traditional business board and the venture-backed business board,” explains Molina Niño. Traditional businesses are often family-owned or long-established and may only form boards to meet requirements, like securing financing or transitioning through an ESOP. Venture-backed boards, on the other hand, are typically filled by investors who hold major stakes in the company.

According to Molina Niño, understanding the difference between them is how you can create a successful strategy. With publicly traded business boards, the whole world is privy to them, so, “The way that you get in there is a little bit more transparent. Sometimes those publicly traded companies will hire a recruiter to help them find new board members,” explains Molina Niño. For private companies, on the other hand, there’s no legal requirement to make announcements. As a result, most people don’t know anything about them or their inner workings.

“Usually what happens in traditional businesses that don’t have venture-capital investments is that the Founders, Executives, or the board members, if one existed already, they usually go to their friends,” and people they deem experienced to fill board seats. In other words, it’s the founder’s decision, and that’s an entirely different approach than hiring recruiters. When it comes to venture-backed business boards, the seats on the board are filled by whichever investor writes the biggest check.

This is why an understanding of the different types of boards and acknowledgment of their own strengths is what will help Latinas define a sound strategy. Whether that’s working with a recruiter, networking and connecting with founders to build trust, or making the biggest investment.

The Path for Latinas

For Molina Niño, the key to getting more Latinas into corporate boardrooms is education. Knowing what a board looks like and how it functions is how you can position yourself to get on it. In openly talking about this, without the mystique it’s usually shrouded in, Molina Niño is providing women, especially Latinas, with invaluable insights. “If we had Latinas understanding what are the three types of for-profit boards I think that, on their own, they would be able to figure out what their best chance is and adjust their careers to make themselves more competitive,” states Molina Niño.

When asked about the impact of increased Latina representation in boardrooms, Molina Niño flips the narrative. “Boards don’t help Latinas by offering them seats; Latinas help businesses thrive by being on their boards,” she says. “The whole point of sitting on a board is that you have experience and expertise, and as Latinas, you also have some cultural experience that everyone wants. [...] At the end of the day, we [Latinas] have to realize that we have a ton to offer and we have to be selective about where we put that expertise,” she explains.

As demand for access to the Latina consumer rises, Molina Niño predicts that more Latinas will find themselves recruited into boardrooms. But she’s not content to sit back and wait for that moment. By openly sharing her journey and insights, she’s making sure other Latinas know their worth and have the tools to claim their place at the table. “I realized that quietly being on boards that helped me personally is not helping other Latinas. [...] I was lucky enough to have friends who could advise me and share their experiences, so that’s why I’m doing this,” she stated.

With Hispanic Heritage Month as the backdrop, Nathalie Molina Niño’s mission is clear: “My goal is just to give Latinas enough information so they can make a plan for how to eventually get on a board that they’re paid to be on and that will eventually help them build generational wealth.”

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Ever noticed how September in Latin America is just one big celebration? As we wave goodbye to summer and avoid winter as long as we can, the streets come alive with parades, music, and festivities. Many Latin American countries celebrate their freedom this month, commemorating their hard-fought battles for independence from colonial domination. Let’s dive into these significant days and understand what makes each unique.

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