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Profiting from a Conscious Choice | Transformative Investing | Sustainable Investment Solutions™ | Making Money and Making a Difference | Your Professional Advisor | A Growing Trend in Investing | Putting Ideas into Action | We Believe | Our Goals

Profiting from a Conscious Choice

The quality of your future depends upon more than simply how much money you have.  When you choose to invest with First Affirmative, your money works to achieve two distinct yet highly compatible objectives.  Aligning your investments with your values can provide a means to achieve your financial goals and secure your financial future, while encouraging the development of a better future in which to enjoy that security.

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Transformative Investing
You can make a positive difference by consciously directing your investments toward enterprises that contribute to a clean, healthy environment, treat people fairly, embrace equal opportunity, produce safe and useful products, and support efforts to promote a more peaceful world. There are many opportunities to make sound investments that have a positive social impact.

• Avoid investing in companies with objectionable practices
• Seeking out profitable companies that are making positive contributions to society
• Voting your proxies and getting involved in shareholder advocacy to encourage more responsible corporate citizenship
• Putting some of your money to work in low-income communities for affordable housing and small businesses
• Support new businesses and technologies making a positive contribution to society.

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Sustainable Investment Solutions™

First Affirmative believes that in addition to the benefits of ownership, investors bear responsibility for the impact our money has in the world. We also believe that integrating money with values can be both prudent and rewarding. We have combined these core beliefs with years of custom consulting and portfolio management expertise. The result is a unique investment strategy called Sustainable Investment Solutions™.

We begin with a Confidential Client Questionnaire. Information is gathered on financial goals, time horizon, risk tolerance, and societal priorities. An asset allocation strategy is tailored to meet your needs, and an Investment Policy Statement is developed to guide discretionary management of your account. Accounts may be invested in a portfolio of mutual funds, model folios, separate accounts invested in equities, separate accounts invested in fixed income securities, or a combination of these possibilities, depending on what you need. To the extent possible, your account is tailored to meet your unique situation.

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Making Money and Making a Difference

You no longer need to separate good fortune from good will. An impressive body of academic evidence and real-world experience has effectively busted the myth that doing something good with your money will automatically result in lower returns.

You can make money and help to transform society in many positive ways. The broad range of competitive sustainable and responsible investment opportunities permits the development of a diverse, well-balanced portfolio for nearly every socially conscious investor.

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Your Professional Advisor

First Affirmative supports a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving the unique needs of socially conscious investors. Your advisor can assist with many of your specific financial needs including college planning, charitable giving, retirement, estate and tax planning, business consulting, inheritance, and personal financial coaching.

Fees are based on assets under management in your portfolio and shared with your advisor. Our motivation to retain you as a client is aligned with your desire to receive excellent ongoing investment management services. Follow this link to Find An Advisor in your area.

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A Growing Trend in Investing
According to the Social Investment Forum’s 2007 Report on Socially ResponsibleInvesting Trends in the United States:

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Putting Ideas into Action

First Affirmative strives to meet our own high standards for responsible business practices. We go beyond the day-to-day things, like recycling and using recycled paper. Our home office is LEED® Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance buildings. We vote all proxies our clients authorize us to vote according to social responsibility guidelines. We have exceeded the 1% in Community Investing goal embraced by the social investment industry. 

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We Believe

• Every person has a core set of values that governs his or her actions.
• Fair-minded people respect and tolerate the values and priorities of others, even when different from their own.
• Given an alternative, many thoughtful people choose not to profit from behavior in others that they find objectionable in themselves.
• It is both prudent and rewarding to reflect personal values in financial and investment decisions.
• Aligning personal values and financial decision-making can powerfully influence others and encourage behavior that enhances quality of life for all.

Our Goals

• To actively promote the direct relationship between financial decision-making and the common good
• To provide the highest quality of investment choices, social research, and specialized assistance available
• To nurture and maintain a culture of respect
• To always embrace the highest ethical and fiduciary standards
• To encourage and develop a high level of professional conduct among network advisors

We strongly recommend that you consult a financial professional for investment advice specific to your situation. Past performance is never a guarantee of future results. There can be no assurance that any investment strategy will generate profitable results. Accounts will fluctuate in value. When redeemed, accounts may be worth more or less than the original investment. Network Advisors may offer securities through various broker-dealers and may charge commissions for certain transactions that are not shared with First Affirmative. All fees and commissions are clearly disclosed.