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Newground Social Investment
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Newground Social Investment operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor built around four explicit levers:...
Newground Social Investment
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Newground Social Investment operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor built around four explicit levers: ESG portfolio construction, community investment, shareholder engagement, and legislative advocacy. The firm was founded as a specialist in values-aligned wealth management for progressive individuals and families nationwide. Newground constructs concentrated public-equity portfolios using environmental, social, and governance screens, deliberately excluding companies whose actions it views as creating material portfolio risk. On the private-credit side, the firm places client capital into community investment notes that supply banking and lending services to historically underserved populations. Its shareholder engagement program — a capability the firm notes few advisors even understand — uses proxy voting and direct corporate dialogue to press portfolio companies on sustainability, transparency, and inclusion. Geographically, the firm serves clients across the United States from its single office in Seattle. No public AUM or staff count is disclosed. The firm's website lists three core service lines — portfolio management, financial and tax planning, and strategic philanthropy — indicating a lean, planning-centric model rather than a multi-strategy asset gatherer. In March 2024, NPR's "Soundside" profiled Newground's shareholder advocacy work, specifically highlighting its years-long campaign to get a shareholder resolution on antibiotics policy onto McDonald's proxy ballot. Newground's structural distinction is the integration of direct legislative lobbying into an RIA wrapper. The firm states it works to improve the rules of the game for sustainable investing, a posture that blurs the typical boundary between asset management and public-policy activism. This lobbying function is offered alongside traditional wealth-management services, making the firm an advocacy platform as much as an investment advisor.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
1994
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Seattle
Corporate office
111 Queen Anne Ave N, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, United States
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Newground integrate shareholder advocacy into its investment process?
Newground uses the proxy voting and engagement rights that come with equity ownership to press portfolio companies on sustainability, transparency, fairness, and inclusion. The firm states this goes beyond standard ESG screening by directly negotiating with management and filing shareholder resolutions. A publicly documented example is its multi-year campaign to get a resolution on antibiotics use onto McDonald's proxy ballot, which succeeded in 2024.
What does Newground's community investment practice actually invest in?
The firm places client capital into community investment notes designed to provide loans and basic banking services to people and communities that are routinely underserved by mainstream financial institutions. Newground frames this as a private-credit sleeve that complements its public-equity ESG portfolios. Specific note issuers or vehicles are not publicly disclosed.
Does Newground operate as a traditional RIA or does it have a broader advocacy mandate?
Newground is structured as an SEC-registered investment advisor, but its mandate explicitly encompasses legislative lobbying aimed at improving the regulatory and policy framework for sustainable investing. This makes the firm a hybrid asset manager and public-policy advocate, which is unusual among RIAs. The lobbying work sits alongside core services of portfolio management, financial planning, and tax planning.
What investment vehicles does Newground use — direct securities, funds, or separate accounts?
Based on available disclosures, Newground constructs concentrated portfolios of individual public equities screened for ESG criteria, alongside direct placements in community investment notes. The firm does not market itself as a fund-of-funds or a sponsor of pooled vehicles. All client mandates appear to be managed on a separately managed account basis.
What is Newground's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
There is no public indication that Newground participates in co-investment deals alongside external general partners. The firm's investment activities appear confined to direct equity selection and community-note placements for its advisory clients.
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