Natural Investments was established in 1999, and our roots go back much further. Founder Jack
Brill began his career as a Sustainable and Responsible Investing (SRI) advisor in 1985 and was a
pioneer in the SRI industry. He was an original member of First Affirmative Financial Network. Hal
Brill mentored under his father and joined FAFN as an advisor in 1989. Our passion to spread the
word about the importance of SRI led Jack to write Investing from the Heart (Crown) in 1992. The
next year, Jack was asked to participate as the only SRI advisor in a national performance study in
the NY Times, which pitted advisors and their investment strategies and products against one an-
other for 28 consecutive quarters.
With the publication of our second book, Investing With Your Values, Making Money and Making
a Difference (Bloomberg Press) in 1999, written by Hal, Jack and Cliff Feigenbaum, the editor of
the GreenMoney Journal, Hal and Jack co-founded Natural Investment Services, Inc., with offices
in California and Colorado. The popularity of the book led to new business, at which point Mi-
chael Kramer was brought in as the third advisor in 2000 to form a Hawai’i office. He is now a
Manager and the Director of Research, overseeing the Heart Rating as well as representing the
firm in shareholder advocacy and public policy.
In 2004 with business continuing to expand, NI added Christopher Peck who established our
Northern California office. Christopher is now a Manager and our Chief Compliance Officer.
By 2005 with Jack moving closer to retirement we brought in our fifth advisor Scott Secrest and
formed a Central California office.
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In 2007 NI reorganized as Natural Investments, LLC, and from then until 2017 the firm was
equally owned by Hal Brill, Michael Kramer, and Christopher Peck. NI continued to grow and in
2009 added a sixth office in Port Townsend, WA (now in Kula, HI), headed by James Frazier, and a
seventh office in Portland, OR (now in Pahoa, HI), headed by Malaika Maphalala.
In 2011 NI added three new offices, making us a nationwide firm. We added an office in Louis-
ville, KY, with Andy Loving and Susan Taylor, an office in Charleston, SC, with Greg Garvan, and
an office in Ithaca, NY, with Greg Pitts. In 2013 Carrie VanWinkle joined us in the Louisville of-
fice. Evan Quirk-Garvan joined Greg Garvan’s team in 2015, and opened our Asheville office in
2016. In 2015 Hal Brill transitioned out of day-to-day management responsibilities, though he
maintains his client relationships. In 2016 long-time socially responsible financial advisor Eric
Smith joined NI, along with colleague Ryan Jones-Casey, and with offices in Seattle WA and Du-
luth, MN, giving NI a footprint in five US time zones. Eric retired in 2021, passing his practice to
Ryan Jones-Casey. In 2017 Amy Pender from New York, NY joined us, and Hal Brill sold 5% of his
stake of the company each to Malaika Maphalala, James Frazier, and Greg Pitts. In 2018, Kirbie
Crowe joined the Garvan team offices in the Southeast, Joel Koerner joined the offices of Just
Money Advisors in Kentucky, Sylvia Panek opened a Chicago, IL office, and Kate Poole and Tiffany
Brown of Chordata Capital also joined the Natural Investments team. In late 2019 Nicole Middle-
ton Holloway and her Strategy Squad team, based in Oakland, California, joined us.
In 2023 Natural Investments made another significant change. The previous six owners of the
firm, Hal Brill, Michael Kramer, Christopher Peck, James Frazier, Malaika Maphalala, and Greg
Pitts all transferred their ownership in NI to the newly formed Natural Investments Purpose Trust
(NIPT). A perpetual purpose trust is designed to protect the purpose of a company into perpetuity.
Michael Kramer and Christopher Peck continue to serve as managers of the LLC. The Natural In-
vestments Purpose Trust is guided by a Trust Stewardship Committee that was initially formed with
four of the previous owners, Michael Kramer, Christopher Peck, James Frazier, and Malaika
Maphalala joined by three of our long-standing advisors, Carrie VanWinkle, Ryan Jones-Casey,
and Nicole Holloway. The Trust Stewardship Committee serves as the managing board of NIPT.
NI’s advisors offer sustainable and responsible portfolio management services and financial plan-
ning. NI receives approximately 98% of its compensation from investment advisory services and
approximately 2% from other services, primarily financial planning. We offer for free on our web-
site the Heart Rating, which provides social, environmental, impact, advocacy, and community
investment measurement ratings of SRI mutual funds.
NI specializes in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), and generally our advice is limited to SRI.
We advise on investment vehicles to meet the client’s financial needs, including mutual funds, ex-
change-traded funds, individual stocks, municipal and corporate bonds, certificates of deposit,
warrants, community bank CDs and loan fund certificates, limited partnerships and LLCs, US gov-
ernment and agency securities, commercial paper, real estate, unit investment trusts, real estate
investment trusts and foreign issues. Qualified and/or accredited investors may also access venture
capital and other pooled private equity and debt products. NI does not recommend investments in
futures, but may recommend investments in options or commodities, if those investments are suit-
able for the client. Clients may impose restrictions on how their account is to be managed. These
restrictions are reflected in the Investment Policy Statement developed for and signed by the cli-
ent.
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The process begins with the advisor discussing the client’s financial information and interest in
sustainable and responsible investing. Through questionnaires and conversations with the advisor,
NI will obtain information about the client’s financial situation, goals, tolerance for risk, and the
social and environmental issues the client wishes to be reflected in the client’s holdings. Re-
strictions are noted at this time. NI will develop an Investment Policy Statement describing the
firm’s intended approach to managing the client’s assets.
In situations where an investor’s account might be below an advisor’s minimum account size
and/or when an investor does not need or want personalized investment,
account, or financial ad-
visory services, NI offers an automated web-based investment program (Program) through which
clients are invested in a range of investment strategies NI has constructed and manages, each con-
sisting of a portfolio of mutual or exchange-traded funds and a cash allocation. The client’s
portfolio is held in a brokerage account opened by the client at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
(Schwab). We use the Institutional Intelligent Portfolios® platform (Platform), offered by Schwab
Performance Technologies (SPT), a software provider to independent investment advisors and an
affiliate of Schwab, to operate the Program. NI is independent of and not owned by, affiliated
with, or sponsored or supervised by SPT, Schwab, or their affiliates (together, “Schwab”). NI, and
not Schwab, is the client’s investment advisor and primary point of contact with respect to the Pro-
gram. We are solely responsible, and Schwab is not responsible, for determining the
appropriateness of the Program for the client, choosing a suitable investment strategy and portfolio
for the client’s investment needs and goals, and managing that portfolio on an ongoing basis. NI
has contracted with SPT to provide us with the Platform, which consists of technology and related
trading and account management services for the Program. The Platform enables us to make the
Program available to clients online and includes a system that automates certain key parts of our
investment process.
The investment process includes an online questionnaire that can help determine the client’s in-
vestment objectives and risk tolerance and guides an appropriate investment strategy and
portfolio. Clients should note that the online questionnaire automatically recommends an appro-
priate portfolio in response to the client’s answers to the online questionnaire.
Schwab’s online platform includes an automated investment engine through which we manage
the client’s portfolio on an ongoing basis through automatic rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting (if
the client is eligible and elects). NI charges clients a fee for our services as described in the Fees
and Compensation section below. Clients do not pay brokerage commissions or any other fees to
Schwab as part of the Program. Schwab does receive other revenues, outlined in “Fees and Com-
pensation”.
NI does not pay SPT fees for the Platform so long as NI maintains $100 million in client assets in
accounts at Schwab that are not enrolled in the Program. If we do not meet this condition, then NI
pays SPT an annual licensing fee of 0.10% (10 basis points) on the value of our clients’ assets in
the Program. This fee arrangement gives us an incentive to recommend or require that our clients
with accounts not enrolled in the Program be maintained with Schwab.
Assets Under Management
As of December 31, 2023, Natural Investments manages approximately $1,803,328,608 in total
assets. $4,348,528 are not under discretionary control, $1,798,980,080 are discretionary.
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Trade Error Policy
From time-to-time NI may make an error in submitting a trade order on your behalf. When this
occurs, NI may place a correcting trade with the custodian that has custody of your account. If an
investment gain results from the correcting trade, the gain will remain in your account unless the
same error involved other client account(s) that should have received the gain, it is not permissible
for you to retain the gain, or we confer with you and you decide to forego the gain (e.g., due to
tax reasons). If the gain does not remain in your account and Schwab is the custodian, Schwab
will donate the amount of any gain $100 and over to charity. If a loss occurs greater than $100, NI
will pay for the loss. Schwab will maintain the loss or gain (if such gain is not retained in your ac-
count) if it is under $100 to minimize and offset its administrative time and expense. Generally, if
related trade errors result in both gains and losses in your account, they may be netted.
Client Obligation
In performing its services, NI is not required to verify any information received from the client or
from the client’s other professionals. Each client is advised that it remains his or her responsibility
to promptly notify NI if there is any change in the client’s financial situation or investment objec-
tives during the client engagement.
Disclosure Brochure
A copy of this written disclosure brochure shall be provided to each client prior to, or at the same
time as, the execution of a Client Services Agreement. Any client who has not received a copy of
this written disclosure brochure at least 48 hours prior to executing the Client Service Agreement
shall have five business days subsequent to executing the agreement to terminate NI’s services
without penalty.
Non-Participation in Wrap Fee Programs
NI, as a matter of policy and practice, does not sponsor any wrap fee program. A wrap fee pro-
gram is defined as any advisory program under which a specified fee or fees not based directly
upon transactions in a client’s account is charged for investment supervisory services (which may
include portfolio management or advice concerning the selection of other investment advisors)
and the execution of client transactions.
Policy on Class Action Lawsuits
From time to time, securities held in the accounts of clients will be the subject of class action law-
suits. NI has no obligation to determine if securities held by the client are subject to a pending or
resolved class action lawsuit. It also has no duty to evaluate a client’s eligibility or to submit a
claim to participate in the proceeds of a securities class action settlement or verdict. Furthermore,
NI has no obligation or responsibility to initiate litigation to recover damages on behalf of clients
who may have been injured as a result of actions, misconduct, or negligence by corporate man-
agement of issuers whose securities are held by clients.
Where NI receives written or electronic notice of a class action lawsuit, settlement, or verdict af-
fecting securities owned by a client, it will forward all notices, proof of claim forms, and other
materials to the client. Electronic mail is acceptable where appropriate if the client has authorized
contact in this manner.
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