Chief Executive of Gates Foundation Clarifies Its Stance on Social Investing

The chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said in a letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times that the philanthropy does not plan to make changes in its investment policies.

Responding to a two-part article that criticized the foundation for not making sure that its investments jibed with its social investments, Patty Stonesifer, the head of the foundation, said it was “naive” to suggest that individual shareholders could alter corporate policies.

“While shareholder activism has worthwhile goals, we believe a much more direct way to help people is by making grants and working with other donors to improve health, reduce poverty, and strengthen education,” she wrote.

The letter comes after the foundation had signaled that it planned to step up its review of stocks. Cheryl Scott, the chief operating officer of the foundation, told The Seattle Times last week that the foundation planned to conduct a review to determine whether it would divest from companies doing harm, the Los Angeles Times noted.