Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging (DEI&B) Policy to Create a Just and Equitable World for All

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) are at the heart of sustainability in corporate behavior and access to capital as a matter of justice, and why sustainability matters to us. The Pension Boards has a long history of being committed to DEI&B in our responsible investing activities. As faith-based investors with diverse membership working to provide a just and equitable world for all, we believe making capital accessible to everyone will bring positive benefits to our investments and society at large. Within investments we believe diverse teams, committed to DEI&B with varied perspectives and experiences, can deliver superior returns to our members and align with our core values.

Over the last few years, we have met with over 60 diverse investment managers across asset class- es. Our DEI&B activities have included the development of a pipeline of investment managers through conference attendance, meeting directly with diverse investment managers, conversations with the heads of DEI-related initiatives, monitoring our current managers on their goals and progress via a survey, understanding the impact of our current managers’ investments and initiatives on diverse communities, collaborations with peers, and our engagement and proxy voting activities.

Recently, the investment team, in partnership with the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and Investment Committee, developed an Investment Policy on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging with a supporting background paper. At PBUCC, diversity encompasses all the ways in which people are different. That includes visible differences like race, ethnicity, gender, and age, as well as invisible aspects like cultural background, class/caste, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and socio-economic position.

The policy consists of three main sections:

1. PBUCC’s definition of diversity;
2. criteria for an investment manager to be considered diverse;
3. ten statements PBUCC will abide by to promote a just and equitable world for all within investments.

The ten statements include areas of governance; advocating and supporting new managers; monitoring of existing managers; a review of our consultant; continuing to broaden our network and pipeline; utilizing diverse brokerages; engagements and proxy voting; expanding evaluation methods; and advocating and supporting the adoption in associated organizations of the United Church of Christ to create a larger impact.

To further support our position on DEI&B being an important addition to our policy, we created a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Background Paper. This document consists of the following sections: how diverse managers are not fairly represented in the global asset management industry; why there is substantial reason to act now; evidence that diversity is a performance driver; showcasing how the Pension Boards has been historically and continues to be involved in DEI&B; resources to learn more; and peer examples.

Currently, we are invested in Channing Capital Management, Lumos Capital Group, Neuberger Berman, and Generation Investment Management Just Climate, which are either managed by diverse teams and/or investing to positively impact diverse communities. We recently re-increased our investment with private equity impact manager Lumos Capital Group, which invests in companies within the global $10 trillion human capital development sector focused on education technology; human capital technology and services; and knowledge sector focused on education technology; human capital technology and services; and knowledge services and training. The team is led by a group of individuals that includes both gender and ethnic diversity. Their portfolio companies can bring positive impact by addressing equity gaps for persons of color in learning and workforce development. Approximately 30% of opportunities in their pipeline include diverse and underrepresented founders.

To view more details on our DEI&B related activities, please view the following reports:

• Statement of Investment Policy Statement
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Background Paper.
• 2023 Diversity in Our Workplace Report