Introducing O-Six Impact Partners
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Dan Carreno: Thank you for tuning in to Rewild in Wall Street, where we provide analysis and insights into the ever-evolving world of sustainable investing. And I'm Dan Carreno.
Brittany Damico: I'm Brittany Damico.
Dan Carreno: Brittany and I are the co-founders of O-Six Impact Partners. Today, we're working to provide some background about O six, who we are, and what we do. Brittany, I'm going to put you on the spot. What is it exactly that we are doing around here?
Brittany Damico: Great question, Dan. So, O-Six Impact Partners is an outsourced sales marketing and consultation firm. We are working primarily with mission-focused asset managers and service providers. The idea behind it was we founded this to elevate the voices of emerging managers and to help scale sustainable investing in capital markets.
Dan Carreno: Sounds like a lot. Did I sign up for this? I appreciate you providing the background. Thank you. Our listeners would also be interested in our backgrounds and professional expertise. And what puts us in a position to launch O-Six?
Brittany Damico: O-Six is the genesis of our backgrounds and this desire to make a meaningful impact in the space. For me, that started back in 2007 when I came into the financial services industry and worked in various capacities. Still, the story's big picture is after years of working and not feeling fulfilled in what I was doing. I left because I wanted to be an environmental activist. I returned to school and eventually found my way to a graduate program in ecological economics that inspired the idea of sustainable investing and how I could make an impact and influence there. So that was about six years ago. I did that in the UK when I returned to the States and started working with some smaller firms, helping them with their sustainable strategies. And that was when I crossed paths with you when we started working at a small mission-focused asset manager. And from that point, really where the story begins, because we worked with some startups together, went through different exits, and then we were looking for our next step in the space, and that was where the idea for O-Six was born. Do you want to share a little bit about your background before that moment when we met?
Dan Carreno: I appreciate you asking. My background is that I've been in financial sales and marketing for 20 years. And especially over the last ten years, you know, I had started to notice that the meetings, the conversations that I was having that were explicitly about sustainable investing, about aligning client portfolios with values, I mean, those ended up being the, the longest, the best, the most engaging conversations that I was having. I'm offering something here of genuine value, and I got hooked. Ultimately, similar to you, I went back to grad school, earning a degree in energy and sustainability, and then, you know, got back into the sustainable investing space and just haven't looked back since. Okay. Let's talk about the mission we're trying to accomplish here. I'll go first and offer my two cents here. But over the last few years, you know, something that has repeatedly happened over and over again is we've had, you know, really brilliant people with amazing visions and, and, and missions, you know, approach us and say, Hey, we're thinking about creating this type of investment product or that type of investment product that's aimed at addressing either racial inequality or the energy transition or whatever it is. There were various stories, and they were all really powerful. But a lot of these folks came from other industries. They didn't know exactly how to get started in terms of, you know, raising money, marketing their firms, competing with the likes of BlackRock and State Street out there, and just, you know, they needed help, you know, getting things going. And, there were enough of those conversations where we eventually said that, wow, you know, somebody needs to create a firm that, that's focused on helping these types of organizations scale. I'm confident that our financial market system, and the world in general, will be a better place with these investment managers thriving in that environment. So at the end of the day, I want O-Six to do exactly that, to help scale these organizations, to compete with the big ones out there and provide, you know, not just the impact story, but also the opportunity for investors to, to invest in, you know, some of these leading-edge sustainability trends that I think are just really, really exciting. So Brittany, what about you? What would you add to that?
Brittany Damico: I couldn't agree more. So many of these smaller firms need more horsepower in their sales, the sales arm of the business. And I think getting out there and celebrating these firms, telling their story, having people who are educated and passionate and dedicated to the space that can come in and bring a little added component to the sales conversation when you're out in the field. So those are the things that O six brings. It's a deep desire for that impact. It's a lot of passion. There's a lot of excitement around the strategies. So many of them are so exciting, and people don't know about them if they're smaller and emerging. It's really getting the voice out there to help people see that these things exist and what's going on behind the curtains and telling the story.
Dan Carreno: And what about Rewilding, wall Street, this podcast with a funky name? What are we doing here?
Brittany Damico: I'm here for the name. I love it. So, Rewilding Wall Street, we're trying to distill complex information that's out there in terms of ESG or sustainability. As you mentioned at the very beginning of the podcast, there are so many evolving changes. So what we want to do is, you know, pull together these reports that are coming out, synthesize the information, distill it down, and relay the information for our listeners. Fascinating tidbits that we find, policy updates, regulatory changes, all of those things will be different components of what we cover and just something that excites and inspires us and information that we think is valuable for advisors or anybody in the financial, the sustainable finance space.
Dan Carreno: Excellent, thank you. Yeah, so at the end of the day, listeners, we're trying to save you time.
Brittany Damico: So before we wrap things up, we must address the elephant or the wolf in the room. O-Six Impact Partners, the name. How did we come up with it?
Dan Carreno: Great question. We get this one a lot so far, at least. O-Six is the name of the most famous female alpha Wolf from Yellowstone National Park. Okay. So why do we name our firm after a wolf? Well, you know, for those unfamiliar with the story, wolves were largely eradicated from the United States and the Yellowstone ecosystem. And as a result, ecologists noticed that all these issues resulted from that. You know, the elk were overpopulated; they decimated a lot of the vegetation as a result. It was just an ecosystem that was entirely out of balance. So, in the 1990s, conservationists reintroduced wolves into Yellowstone National Park. And within the next few decades, they just noticed all these amazing cascading benefits, right? The elk population came under control, and the vegetation flourished. As a result, beavers, raptors, and all these other species were healthier, and everything worked better.
In ecology, it's a phenomenon known as a trophic cascade. And we just thought that that was something that aligned well with the vision for our firm in the sense that, you know, we hope that the, the firms, the investment managers that we introduced or helped to scale in the capital market system are going to act kind of just like those wolves. They will continue to thrive, balance the system, and create this cascading impact over time. So that is what inspired our firm. I'd also be remiss that O-Six, in and of herself, is just a fantastic story for those interested. There's a book out there called American Wolf that details the story of her life. And this was an animal that was fierce, determined, compassionate, and had to overcome these unimaginable odds to take care of her pack in Yellowstone National Park. Ultimately, those were qualities worth emulating for the firms we will serve. Excellent. Well, let's wrap it up there. For those interested in more information about O-Six Impact Partners, go to our website, osixpartners.com. Please feel free to reach out to us through the website. And thank you for tuning in and listening to this short introductory podcast. And we will be back soon with another episode of Rewilding Wall Street.
Disclosure
The opinions expressed herein are those of O-Six Impact Partners, LLC and are subject to change without notice. The information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities product, service, or investment strategy. Investments involve risk, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Therefore, it should not be assumed that any specific investment or investment strategy made reference to directly or indirectly by O-Six Impact Partners, LLC will be profitable. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser, tax professional, or attorney before implementing any strategy or recommendation discussed herein.
O-Six Impact Partners, LLC specializes in providing outsourced sales and marketing services to investment managers and related financial entities. These services may include lead generation, client outreach, relationship management, and promotional activities aimed at enhancing the visibility and market presence of investment products. O-Six Impact Partners’ services are strictly limited to sales and marketing efforts. Under no circumstances should any communication, content, or action taken by O-Six Impact Partners be construed as investment advice or recommendations.
