The Next Evolution of Wealth Management: Jed Emerson on Purpose, Capital, and Delivering Impact (#075)

SRI360 | Sustainable & Responsible Investing, Impact Investing, ESG, Socially Responsible Investing

Today, I'm thrilled to welcome back Jed Emerson, our first-ever repeat guest on the show.

Jed is a true impact pioneer and has spent decades thinking about and exploring how to create impact and value that is in alignment with who you are – your values, your goals, and your purpose.

Jed's impact journey began in the gritty Tenderloin district of San Francisco, California, where he founded a homeless youth center at the height of the AIDS epidemic. This experience led to his dissatisfaction with the nonprofit sector, where funding was too often hinged on politics, persuasion, and perception rather than on real performance.

He wanted to rewrite that script.

By a stroke of serendipity, Jed crossed paths with George Roberts – the “R” in the renowned global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). Roberts was searching for a way to do good with his wealth that didn’t feel empty or disconnected from his business roots.

Together, they launched an experimental private equity fund where he learned firsthand that social progress and financial savvy don't have to sit at opposite ends of the table. They can be integrated into what Jed later called “blended value.”

Fast forward to the present, and Jed is now the Chief Impact Officer at AlTi Tiedemann Global, which is a global wealth management firm, guiding next-generation family members who are questioning the purpose of their inherited wealth.

But don’t be fooled into thinking this is a victory lap story. Jed remains as restless and inquisitive as ever, living by his five-year cycles of asking (and answering) life’s biggest questions about capital, community, and our collective future.

And if you need any proof that Jed is never short on surprises, his book, ‘The Purpose of Capital’ inspired a music video. Yes, you read that right: a music video about impact investing.

Jed discusses impact investing’s key challenge: ensuring tangible outcomes aren't lost to good intentions and slick marketing. He explains why every investment carries an undeniable social and environmental footprint.

If you're ready to rethink the purpose of wealth and capital, join us to hear Jed's mix of pragmatic investing and ethical commitment to improving our world.

His story will remind you that success isn’t just about returns. It’s about finding new questions worth asking time after time.

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Additional Resources:

- AlTi website

- AlTi LinkedIn

Connect with Jed:

- Website

- LinkedIn

- BlueSky

Jed's books:

- Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference

- The Purpose of Capital: Elements of Impact, Financial Flows, and Natural Being

- 'What If' music video

- Toniic Institute

- GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network)

Check out Jed Emerson's first appearance on the SRI360 podcast:

- Listen here

- Watch on YouTube

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1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Disenchantment with the nonprofit sector (00:03:23)

3. Setting up the first experimental fund with George Roberts (00:09:27)

4. Advising family offices (00:11:41)

5. The merger of Tiedemann Advisors with Alvarium to create AlTi Tiedemann Global (00:12:41)

6. AlTi Tiedemann Global - a high-level overview (00:18:03)

7. Sustainability and impact in the wealth management area (00:23:16)

8. Contact info (00:24:28)

9. Translating family values into investment strategies (00:27:25)

10. Emerging patterns in family impact preferences (00:37:15)

11. Impact measurements and the risk of “cheap impact” (00:42:00)

12. Greenwashing & green hushing (00:45:07)

13. Jed’s Book ‘Impact Investing’ & the concept of ‘blended value’ (00:49:47)

14. Jed's book 'The Purpose of Capital' (00:59:39)

15. The music video inspired by ‘The Purpose of Capital’ (01:05:40)

16. Evolution of blended value (01:11:26)

17. The future of impact (01:13:54)

18. Rapid fire questions (01:17:26)