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Envestnet Appoints ESG Head

Envestnet appointed Ron Ransom to serve as group head of its Environmental, Social and Governance office, a newly created role the firm said was designed to bring a centralized focus to ESG activities across the company.

Ransom will report directly to Dawn Newsome, chief business operations officer of Envestnet.

As group head of ESG, Ransom will lead companywide efforts developing programs and policies to support Envestnet’s corporate ESG efforts, it said. He will “partner closely with divisions throughout the company, including the Sustainable Investing group within Envestnet | PMC,” according to the firm.

Sustainable investing is a major component of Envestnet’s financial wellness ecosystem, it said, noting PMC’s Sustainable Investing team helps advisors “integrate this type of investing into their practices, and helps their clients find ways to generate greater social or environmental impact through their investments.”

The ESG office “will focus on building strong relationships in the communities in which Envestnet operates and seek opportunities in which Envestnet can lead the industry,” according to the company.

Ransom has almost three decades of financial services experience and most recently served as chief business development officer at Envestnet, where he was responsible for managing Envestnet’s go-to-market strategy, it said.

Before joining Envestnet, Ransom had executive positions at Nationwide Financial, UBS and Bank of America.

New Impact Investing Platform Created

Investment and product development executives Josh Hile and Marshall Dunford announced the formation of Citizen Mint, a new impact investing platform it said was designed to help investors generate both financial returns and positive societal and environmental impacts.

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The new company enters the sector as interest in impact investing has reached an all-time high, especially among Gen X and millennials, according to Citizen Mint.

Citizen Mint will focus exclusively on private market investment opportunities and use a proprietary process to source and conduct due diligence on high value investment opportunities, it said. The company will also offer a simple user interface allowing investors to select specific projects and interest areas and monitor investment impact and performance, it said.

Before launching Citizen Mint, Hile, who is serving as CEO, held investment and leadership roles at Russell Investments and, most recently, as director of investment strategy and research at Laird Norton Wealth Management, a $16 billion RIA and trust company specializing in impact investing.

Dunford, who is serving as chief technology officer, previously worked as a software engineer across various industries.

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