YourStake, YourStory Ep. 4 - People, Planet, & Profit- Being A Socially & Environmentally Conscious Person, ft. Sylvia Panek, AIF®, Investment Advisor & Financial Planner at Natural Investments

“...the publicly traded market was really built off of 19th, 20th century mentality where really, it was just, ‘make the money, be as profitable as you can, be as successful as you can.’ It really only is, I'd say, the advent of the Internet, where people became much more aware of their impact and what's happening and all these negative, extra maladies that can come from mining natural resources overseas, or sweatshop labor...it's still relatively nascent and just growing in this collective society's consciousness, and the market has not quite caught up yet.” Welcome in to another episode of “YourStake, Your Story,” a podcast dedicated to telling the stories of financial advisors who lead with socially responsible and values-based investing! Joining us today is Sylvia Panek, AIF®, Investment Advisor & Financial Planner at Natural Investments. She currently holds a Series 65 and Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designation with 15+ years of experience in the responsible business and investment industry. Through socially responsible investment, Sylvia assists in enriching the lives and providing financial empowerment to clients who care about people and the environment. Sylvia’s areas of focus include SRI financial education, energy management strategies, as well as integration of environmental and social strategies in business. Born and raised in Chicago, Sylvia speaks several languages and was originally pursuing a career in international business. A professor introduced Sylvia to the stakeholder model during her final year of business school, in which a corporation considers the well-being of everyone: employees, customers, community, and society. It was a novel thought that kindled a light in her. That lesson instilled in her an enthusiasm that lasted for the duration of Sylvia's career: a company can run on three bottom lines: People, planet, and profit. In this episode, Sylvia discusses the steps she takes to serve her clients, customizing a portfolio strategy, ESG investing & more! Tune into this episode to hear about: Humble beginnings (5:14) Investing in regenerative agriculture (14:34) Direct investment in renewable energy projects (20:58) Fossil fuel free- all things portfolio strategy (23:09) The future of ESG (43:33) Thank you to Sylvia Panek for joining us in this episode! Be sure to tune back in every other week for a new episode of YourStake, YourStory and hear another amazing voice in the industry. About YourStake Your Story: YourStake aims to provide advisors with everything they need to understand ESG issues, analyze portfolios, and report to clients. We want to equip you with the underlying data and analysis tools to navigate ESG. The YourStake, YourStory podcast is designed to amplify voices in the financial industry who are leading the charge for socially responsible investing practices. Each episode, we are joined by experts in the field to hear their stories about what brought them into the industry, why they are passionate about ESG and values-based investing, and much more. Resources: YourStake Website YourStake, YourStory Podcast Home YourStake YouTube Natural Investments Website Sylvia Panek LinkedIn Profile