As part of a collaboration that was announced on Tuesday, fintech firm Newday Impact is expanding its product offerings and values-based analytics capabilities to individual investors and will offer current investment products from asset management firm Reflection Asset Management (RAM) and leverage Reflection Analytics’ user values-assessment and portfolio audit tools, the firms said.
As part of the partnership, which started Jan. 6, Jason Britton, Founder of RAM and Reflection Analytics, developer of the Reflect software platform, has been named Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Newday Impact and joins its Board of Directors.
Britton will lead the buildout of Newday’s proprietary investment offerings in its expanding Newday Impact One Platform (NIO), the firms said. He will also continue to oversee RAM’s investment products and “lead the exploration of new product development for the joint venture,” Doug Heske, Newday Impact CEO and Founder, told WSR.
“Our companies have not previously done business together,” according to Britton. “However, we were each familiar with their respective distinguished work,” Britton told WSR. Reflection Analytics Board Member Howard Buffett introduced me” and Heske, Britton pointed out.
“Jason’s leadership at Reflection Companies echoes our shared vision of transforming the investment landscape,” said Heske.
With Britton as CIO and “through this collaboration, Newday will expand its product set and values-based analytics capabilities to individual investors while continuing to serve values-driven institutional clients,” according to Heske.
Britton’s experience in financial services has included advising on over $10 billion in assets under advisement (AUA) throughout his career, the firms noted.
The partnership between Newday Impact and its NIO Platform, Reflection Asset Management and Reflection Analytics “brings together three institutions committed to providing investors the tools that allow them to get informed, involved, and invested in alignment with their principles,” according to the firms.
“We’re entering a new chapter where values-based investing is no longer exclusive to institutions,” Britton said in a news release. “I am so excited to be a part of the democratization of this type of investing. The Newday NIO platform will be the premier place for individuals to engage in all facets of impact.”
Elaborating, Britton explained to WSR, “A seismic shift is underway which will transform the investment business and reshape global finance. The impact investment business is about to get rocked. We have made the deliberate decision to expand our services to an extraordinarily large audience of individuals that care. We recognize that we can't drive the change that we want to see by just focusing on the high net worth markets.”
For example, Britton said, “Younger people currently represent more than 40% of American purchasing power today. This generation is going to turn the investment marketplace on its head, and how investments are used as a tool for change.”
Also, Britton said, “the momentum around values-based investing is expanding and is driven by two main themes: Significant wealth creation and transfer among women and younger generations. (We’ve seen studies all over the board and as high as $84 trillion over the next 20 years.) The impact investing market is expected to grow from $77 billion today to $260 billion by 2030. More than 70% of millennials and younger want their investments to stand for more than just financial returns.”
Britton added, “Increased capabilities of technology now allow the aforementioned investors access to quality data and information and the ability to transact on said information in a cost-effective way. Millennials, Gen Zs, and other younger generations are armed with information that make them savvy consumers. They believe that if provided with the right tools, they can not only do it on their own, but do it better than advisors. Our intention is to illustrate the dollar pathways for each dollar invested in impact and regularly communicate that information via authentic and verified data, and powerful impact storytelling that lives alongside traditional performance data.”
All of this “powerful storytelling is only possible because of the deep relationships that Newday has crafted with some of the world’s most distinguished nonprofits” and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Britton added.
RAM, with $5.85 billion in AUA, is a boutique wealth and asset management firm specializing in thematic investing.
Reflection Analytics’ Reflect patent-pending software is an environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings tool that was developed to serve asset managers, financial advisors, investors and institutions across advisory, due diligence, compliance, portfolio management, auditing and reporting. The software analyzes 250 data points from an investor-focused viewpoint.
As a “Names Rule-compliant tool,” Reflect helps portfolio managers meet new compliance standards, with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s expansion of the “Names Rule” to include ESG funds taking effect in under two years.
Reflect maintains comprehensive self-reported and third-party data on 6,500 companies.
Reflect maintains comprehensive self-reported and third-party data on 6,500 companies, which Reflection says represents 98% of the global market cap.
Newday, founded in 2017, specializes in values-driven investing and is dedicated to simplifying and deepening impact investing. Its platform provides institutional-grade analytics and investment products to retail and institutional clients. Newday is “guided by” the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and “empowers investors to create lasting social and environmental change,” according to the firm.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jberman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
