Corporate Money & Political Risk with Brian Potts

In this episode of The Future of Finance, Georges Dyer is joined by Brian Potts, co-founder of Goods Unite Us, to explore the increasingly consequential role of corporate political spending in markets, democracy, and fiduciary decision-making. Brian explains how Goods Unite Us tracks political contributions from corporate executives and PACs, translating public campaign finance data into tools that help consumers and investors understand how corporate money aligns—or conflicts—with stated values and policy outcomes. The conversation traces the evolution of Goods Unite Us from a consumer-facing app into an investor-focused platform, including the launch of the DEMZ ETF and the Index Align tool, which maps corporate political spending to voting records across 18 key policy issues such as climate regulation, workers’ rights, healthcare, and gun control. Brian argues that political spending is a critical but missing data point in ESG analysis, noting that companies cannot credibly claim leadership on sustainability or social issues while simultaneously funding politicians who undermine them. Together, Georges and Brian examine the implications for long-term investors, the performance dynamics of politically aligned portfolios, and the growing power of capital markets to influence corporate behavior. The episode closes with reflections on transparency, governance, and why addressing systemic political risk may be one of the most important frontiers for sustainable finance. This episode was brought to you by Metis Global Partners. Corporate political spending, ESG investing, Fiduciary duty, Campaign finance transparency, Systemic risk, Sustainable finance, Shareholder influence, Corporate governance, Political risk, Values-aligned investing