First Affirmative Financial Network Honored as a Best For The World Company For Creating Positive Impact for Workers, Environment and Community

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Jul 05, 2018, 11:38 ET

MCLEAN, Va. and COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- First Affirmative Financial Network, one of the largest advisory firms that specialize in sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing, announced today that B Lab has honored it as a Best For The World: Customers company. B Lab certifies B Corporations, companies that use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. (See the full list of honorees.)

The 221 recipients of the Best For The World: Customers award came from 69 different industries and 32 countries. First Affirmative is one of 30 investment advisory firms to receive this award. B Lab has honored First Affirmative as a Best For The World: Customers company every year since 2016. Also, in 2012, First Affirmative received the Best For The World: Workers award.

"We are thrilled to join the 221 firms that were honored as a Best For The World company," said George Gay, CEO of First Affirmative, which has been a certified B Corp since 2011. First Affirmative is a wholly owned subsidiary of brokerage, custody, clearing and FinTech firm Folio Financial, Inc. (formerly FOLIOfn, Inc.).

Gay added, "First Affirmative's staff and clients believe that as investors, we must take responsibility for the impact our portfolios have on the world. We create and manage more than $1 billion in investment portfolios that are tailored to meet the unique needs of socially conscious investors. In addition, as the founder of The SRI Conference and Community, we have – and continue to do so – educated several hundred investment professionals each year on the benefits and 'how to' of SRI investing."

Only Certified B Corp companies that rank in the top 10 percent of a B Impact Assessment category earn a spot on a Best For the World list. The Customer portion of the B Impact Assessment measures the effect a company has on its customers through the sale of products or services that promote public benefit and help underserved populations. It also measures whether a company's product or service is designed to solve a social or environmental issue.

"With the rise of anger at a system that feels rigged, people are hungry for companies like First Affirmative Financial Network that are changing the system by building businesses that seek to create the greatest positive impact," says Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab. "Best For The World is the only list of businesses that uses comprehensive, comparable, third-party-validated data about a company's social and environmental performance. As consumers, talent and investors increasingly demand transparent, values-aligned businesses to buy from, work at and invest in, companies will need to not just be the best in the world but the best for the world."

About First Affirmative Financial Network
First Affirmative, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Folio Financial (formerly FOLIOfn, Inc.), provides investment advice consistent with the philosophies of sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing. It believes that the ways people save, spend and invest can dramatically influence both the fabric and consciousness of society. Investors can make a meaningful difference by consciously directing investment capital toward enterprises that contribute to a clean, healthy environment, that treat people fairly and embrace equal opportunity, that produce safe and useful products, and support efforts to promote world peace. Clients who choose to invest with First Affirmative make a conscious choice to put their money to work for a dual purpose — to provide for a secure retirement, for example, while working for a better, more socially just and environmentally sustainable future for all. www.firstaffirmative.com.

First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC is an independent Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587).

About Folio Financial, Inc.
Folio Financial, Inc. (formerly FOLIOfn, Inc.) offers various financial, brokerage and custody technology through Folio Investing, Folio Institutional, VIA Folio, First Affirmative Financial Network and The SRI Conference. The firm has more than 19 patents covering an array of financial services and products and has been, and continues to be, a pioneer in a number of areas in the investing and wealth management fields. The Folio family delivers innovative brokerage and custody tools and technology that benefit investors and those who serve them. It provides services to some of the world's largest financial services firms, boutiques and start ups.

SOURCE First Affirmative Financial Network