R.I.S.E.
Research & Investment in Sustainable Equity
People. Planet. Profit.
The primary goal of RISE is to provide an educational environment for Middlebury students to learn about investing from both a traditional viewpoint and a sustainability viewpoint. Approaching investing with these strategies is one of the cornerstones of the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) club and thus, by investing in financial markets using these beliefs, RISE furthers SRI's club mission.
The second objective of RISE is to garner long-term capital gains by investing primarily in equities, but also in other investment vehicles, that meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards and that have above average potential to appreciate in value. We believe that companies that are environmentally and socially conscious are strongly positioned to maintain market share and succeed in the future, making them solid candidates for long-term investments.
What we do...
History
The idea for RISE came about in the fall of 2013 and oficially started in January of 2014. The group was motivated by individuals of the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) club who wanted to make an impact on the management of Middlebury's endowment and increase awareness around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing and other forms of socially responsible and sustainable investing. In the spring of 2014, the group was seeded with $150,000 of Middlebury College's endowment to invest in global securities. Our constitution and charter from our founding are available as well.
RISE seeks investments with both financial and sustainable strengths, adhering to traditional fundamental and technical security analyses, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analysis. We do this through two separate frameworks. The first focuses on traditional financial metrics as well as other elements of business operations and industry performance. The second framework analyzes the ESG strengths of a company from an individual perspective as well as an indsutry perspective. We gather ESG data on publically traded companies from a variety of sources, but primarily through a subscription to MSCI's collection of over 7,000 Intangible Value Assessment (IVA) reports, Industry Reports, ESG Data Metrics Reports, and Impact Monitor Reports that allow us to garner an understanding of a company's commitment to long term sustainability, its ESG strengths and weaknesses, as well as its sustainability profile compared to industry competitors.
Additionally, we use data from company provided documents such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports, Proxy Statements, and Annual Reports, as well as from other third party providers like Bloomberg and Ceres. With all of this data, we are able observe a number of key performance indicators (KPIs) related to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts of a company and holistically understand the non-financial elements of a prospective investment. In the broadest of terms, the group’s strategy considers every
Leadership
Jack Kincus, President (2025.5)
Hyatt Cohen, President (Previous) (2023.5)
Hyatt is currently a Senior-Feb at Middlebury College majoring in Economics. Since arriving at Middlebury, Hyatt has developed an interest in the financial services industry and ESG investing. Hyatt has previous asset management experience with Rice, Heard & Bigelow. This upcoming summer, Hyatt will join Bank of America as a summer analyst in the Investment Banking Division. As president, he looks forward to growing the RISE portfolio and connecting with individuals in the ESG/Investing industry.
Jack is currently a Junior-Feb at Middlebury College majoring in Economics. Since 2017 Jack has been engaged in conservation and research efforts for environmental non-profits. After arriving at Middlebury and discovering a passion for economics and sustainable finance, Jack was drawn to the RISE club. While serving as president he hopes to increase RISE's engagement across campus and grow the RISE portfolio.