Bonnie’s background & how she came to start GreenPortfolio

Bonnie Gauri, one of the co-founders and the CEO of GreenPortfolio, is dedicated to the mission of decarbonizing $4 trillion in retail financial assets. Her career has predominantly revolved around the intersection of climate and finance, with her original background lying in mechanical engineering, holding both undergraduate and graduate degrees in the field. However, her primary focus has been on identifying ways to promote the growth, adoption, and widespread use of climate solutions, recognizing the immense, yet underutilized potential of financial tools in the fight against climate change. Bonnie embarked on this journey because she believed it was crucial, and she felt that many consumers and ordinary individuals were being excluded from this important conversation.

Pete’s background, Earth Equity Advisors & the problem they’re helping solve

Pete embarked on his career in financial services in 1998 with Merrill Lynch, where he worked for several years. However, around five to six years later, he recognized that he wanted to break away from working for a large organization. During this period, he began discussing sustainability and environmental matters with his future wife, Melissa, who held impressive academic credentials in microbiology and molecular genetics. Concurrently, he had the opportunity to engage with Bill McDonough, the author of “Cradle to Cradle.” These experiences led Pete to establish a sustainability-focused company in 2004, which eventually evolved into Earth Equity Advisors. By 2017, the company had reached its current iteration, and in late 2022, it was acquired by Prime Capital Investment Advisors, a move aimed at expanding their sustainable investment offerings to address pressing environmental concerns.

In essence, Earth Equity Advisors, like other financial services firms, aims to assist individuals in investing their money. However, their distinctive approach involves divesting from fossil fuels and actively guiding investors toward proactive solutions for major challenges, including climate change, resource scarcity, and equity. Their overarching goal, akin to Bonnie’s vision, is to transition traditionally invested assets into the “new economy,” where their focus lies. Pete perceives traditional index investing as retrospective, whereas they aim to invest with a forward-looking perspective, emphasizing climate solutions, resilience, and areas often overlooked by conventional investment strategies.

Their clientele encompasses two main groups. They serve individuals, often of high net worth, who share a deep passion for environmental causes and driving change. Additionally, Earth Equity Advisors collaborates with other investment advisors who engage their services, utilizing portfolios they have expertly curated over the course of a decade. Earth Equity Advisors facilitates the due diligence process, making sustainable investing accessible to advisors who may not possess specialized expertise in this field but wish to meet the growing demand for sustainable investment options among their clients.

GreenPortfolio, the problem they’re addressing and how the platform & product works 

GreenPortfolio operates as neither an asset manager nor a trading platform; rather, it functions as a climate-conscious version of Mint.com. Their primary focus is addressing an often overlooked segment of the market—individuals who cannot afford a wealth manager or do not have access to a financially savvy advisor well-versed in climate-related issues. GreenPortfolio’s core objective is to empower users with a comprehensive understanding of their financial activities so they can make informed decisions.

Their unique service involves aggregating data from diverse sources, including financial data, climate data, and third-party tools for personal financial data, which would typically be challenging for the average person to compile independently. This integration allows users to view, in a single interface, their investments from a climate perspective and the actions of their bank. Future expansions will even include the evaluation of where mortgages are held, as all financial accounts have a climate impact. This encompasses even the simplest transactions, like depositing a paycheck, as banks utilize deposited funds for various purposes, such as investing in fossil fuel projects or supporting local renewable energy initiatives. GreenPortfolio’s platform provides users with easily digestible, high-level insights into their financial choices, offering a clear understanding of the climate impact associated with their investments, bank accounts, and other financial products.

Resources Mentioned

• Earth Equity Advisors
• GreenPortfolio

Connect with Pete Krull & Bonnie Gurry

• Connect with Pete on LinkedIn
• Connect with Bonnie on LinkedIn

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