Individuals and families who want their money managed thoughtfully and with a values-based lens. Foundations, endowments, non-profits, and religious institutions whose investment choices should reflect their mission. And financial advisors looking to bring a credible, experienced SRI/ESG manager to their clients. We are a small firm by design, we work closely with each client and don't try to be everything to everyone.

Our current minimum is $1 million for individually managed accounts managed directly. We are temporarily not accepting clients below that threshold, but you can join our waitlist here.

Since 1997 — long before it became so popular. That history matters. Our approach has been tested through multiple market cycles and the full arc of ESG going from niche to mainstream. We didn't start doing this because it became fashionable. And we’ve never pulled back despite political attacks.

Yes, always. As a registered investment adviser, we are legally obligated to act in your financial interest above all else. Many brokers operate under a lesser, transaction-based standard of care that allows them to recommend products that benefit them. We don't work that way. 

B Corp certification, awarded by the nonprofit B Lab, means a company has been independently verified to meet high standards of social and environmental performance and accountability. We pursued it because we believe investment firms should be held to the same scrutiny we apply to the companies we invest in. Check out our profile here. ‍

It means we look at more than financial statements. When we analyze a company, we want to understand how it treats its workers, how it manages environmental risk, how its board is structured, and whether it's transparent about things that could come back to bite investors. We call these ESG factors: Environmental, Social, and Governance. We don't use ESG as a filter to exclude "bad" companies and invest in "good" ones. We use it as a lens for identifying risk and quality that traditional financial analysis often misses.

It also involves other tools such as:

• Screening: Picking companies that do good and avoiding those that cause harm, like major polluters.

• Speaking Up: Using our power as owners to talk to company bosses and vote on their plans to make them act better.

• Direct Help: Putting money into local groups that provide loans for things like affordable housing and new jobs.

• Changing Laws: Working with the government to help pass laws that make the world fairer for everyone.

The main goal is to make sure your investments are aligned with your personal values as closely as possible. 

We don't think the premise holds. Companies that manage ESG risks well -  governance, climate exposure, labor practices - tend to be better-run, more resilient businesses over time. That is not ideology. It is risk management. Our nearly 30 years of track record demonstrates that responsible investing and portfolio performance are not in conflict. 

Filtering out companies with material unmanaged risks does not guarantee outperformance, but it does mean you are not holding businesses that are accumulating liabilities that may eventually surface. We are happy to discuss our investment approach and philosophy with prospective clients. 

We avoid companies whose primary business involves significant harm — weapons manufacturers, tobacco companies, private prison companies, and companies whose business model depends on fossil fuel extraction, among others. All of our strategies are fossil-fuel free. But most of our work is about finding companies that are genuinely well-managed, financially and in terms of how they operate in the world. Read more about our screening process.

Our portfolio is built around a consistent set of criteria: companies that manage risk to their workers, their communities and their environment. If there are specific industries or companies that you would like to exclude from your portfolio, we can customize that. Your values shape what we advocate for. 

When you own shares in a company, you have rights — including the right to vote at annual meetings and to file formal proposals asking the company to change specific behaviors. Shareholder advocacy is the practice of using those rights to push companies toward better practices. Most investment firms do the bare minimum, outsourcing their voting to a proxy advisory service and move on. We treat it as a core part of our investment work. Read more about how we engage

We research and vote on hundreds of shareholder resolutions each year. We vote on everything from board elections and executive pay to climate disclosure, living wage assessments, and lobbying transparency. In many cases, we don't just vote — we file resolutions ourselves and engage directly with company management. 

Two reasons. First, it's one of the most direct ways to create real-world change through investing, more direct than simply choosing not to own a company. Second, the issues we push companies on — climate risk, board diversity, labor practices, political spending — are often the same issues that create material financial risk for investors. Holding companies accountable is both the right thing to do and sound risk management. 

Yes. We publish our proxy voting guidelines and encourage clients to ask about specific votes. Transparency about our voting record is something we consider non-negotiable. 

The ESG label has been applied so broadly it no longer tells you much. Here's what makes us genuinely different: 

We manage individual accounts; your assets are not pooled with others in funds. Your portfolio is tailored to you, and you are the direct shareholder of record. 

We do our own research. We don't rely solely on third-party ESG ratings, which are inconsistent and can be gamed by well-resourced corporate communications teams. 

We engage actively. Most ESG funds screen companies in or out and hold passively. We use shareholder advocacy — filing resolutions, engaging management, voting with intention — to push for change inside companies we hold. 

We've been doing this since 1997. The wave of ESG products launched in the last five years reflects market demand, not deep conviction. We were doing this before it was popular, and we've maintained our approach through periods when it was unfashionable. 

It's real and widespread, and one of the reasons we're careful about how we describe our own work. We don't make claims we can't back up. We can show you exactly what we own, how we voted, what resolutions we've filed, and what the outcomes were. If a firm can't do that, be skeptical. 

We are not neutral on the question of whether companies should be transparent and accountable — we are firmly in favor of it. These positions are grounded in our analysis of long-term risk and our core investment philosophy, not in party politics. We are not in the business of applying political litmus tests to companies or industries. 

Yes. We provide comprehensive financial planning for individual clients with accounts over $1 million as part of our advisory services. For institutions, we help design a mission aligned investment strategy to support the organization’s long-term strategic goals. Please see examples of this here. 

We work with you to develop a long-term financial plan that reflects your goals, priorities, and circumstances. Using financial planning software, we model different scenarios and forecast potential outcomes — helping you understand whether you are on track for retirement and other financial goals, and how changes in spending, savings, returns, or life events might affect that picture. 

As part of the planning process, we create a customized Investment Policy Statement that serves as a roadmap for managing your assets. It defines your investment strategy, asset allocation, risk parameters, and guidelines based on your financial situation and goals. 

Both documents are reviewed and updated regularly as your circumstances change. tem description

A dedicated portfolio manager and client service associate. A firm that knows you by name and remembers what matters to you. Quarterly performance letters written by humans. Regular updates on our shareholder advocacy activities. Online account access. And genuine availability. If you have a question, you can reach someone who can actually answer it. 

With a short conversation. We'll talk through your financial situation, your goals, and your values. If it seems like a good fit on both sides, we'll schedule a more detailed meeting to look at your current investments and discuss how we'd approach your portfolio. No sales pressure — we'd rather take our time and get the relationship right. 

Yes. Our office is in Boston, and local clients are always welcome to visit. But we work with clients across the country and are comfortable meeting by phone or video. 

Zevin tends to be the right fit for people who want more than financial management — who want to know their capital is being used thoughtfully, that someone is watching what the companies they own are actually doing in the world, and that their investment firm shares their conviction that how a company behaves matters. If that sounds like you, we'd like to talk. 

‍Fees are calculated as a percentage of assets under management using a tiered schedule , depending on account size. Discounted institutional rates are available for non-profits. This management fee covers all our services, including building your customized portfolio, regular meetings, financial education and planning and performing advocacy work to improve the behavior of the companies you own. 

Because we buy individual stocks directly for your account, you do not have to pay extra fees to other fund managers for the stock portion of your portfolio. However, there are a few costs not included in our fee: 

• Bank and Trading Fees: You are responsible for fees charged by your chosen custodian and small costs for buying or selling investments. We typically custody at Charles Schwab where there are no custody fees and trading costs are either very low or free.  

• External Fund Costs: For the bond portion of your account, we sometimes use low-cost funds that have their own small internal fee. 

Once you decide to move forward our team handles the heavy lifting, from account setup and paperwork to asset transfers, all completed online if that is your preference. Most accounts are open within a day of signing and fully invested within a few weeks, guided by an Investment Policy Statement we build with you that describes your financial goals, values, and any specific preferences you have for your portfolio. 

Regularly, and in ways that are actually useful. You'll receive a quarterly performance letter, plus periodic updates on our shareholder advocacy work so you can see what we're doing on your behalf beyond the portfolio. Your portfolio manager is reachable directly — no call centers. And if something significant happens in the markets, we'll reach out proactively rather than wait for you to ask. 

These are exactly the moments where having a trusted investment partner matters most. We help clients navigate retirement planning, draw-down strategies, and the shift from accumulation to preservation. If you've inherited assets, we can help you think through what to keep, what to restructure, and how to align an inheritance with your values. For clients with charitable intent, we work with donor-advised funds and can help giving fit into your broader financial picture. We treat these as planning conversations, not just portfolio adjustments.