Can Philanthropists Move as Fast as Climate Change?

Nili Gilbert is the investment committee chair of the $65 million David Rockefeller Fund, which supports nonprofit groups working in the environment, criminal justice, and the arts. (Rockefeller, who died in 2017, was a chief executive officer of Chase Manhattan Bank and grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller Sr.) Gilbert focuses on the fund’s relationship with its investment consultants, manager selection, and overall asset allocation. Gilbert is also co-founder and portfolio manager at Matarin Capital Management, a fundamental and quantitative investment strategist with $1.3 billion under management, serving large institutional investors.

Gilbert says she first became fascinated with finance as a child living in Switzerland, where her mother was teaching business at an American college. She liked collecting the “pretty pieces of currencies” from around Europe in the days before the euro. Her mother suggested that instead of just prizing the notes for their good looks, she should start to keep track of how they change in value.

Karen Toulon: What excites you about your work at the charitable fund?

Nili Gilbert: One way is the way we think about mission-related investments. The funds are almost completely fossil-free. But we do not only negative screening against investing in fossils and natural gas but also positive investments to support alternative energy sources. We’ve just completely divested from private prisons in equities, and we are going down the road of looking at what that means in our fixed-income portfolios.