Roy Swan of Ford Foundation on His New Book Positive Sum and Fixing Zero-Sum Capitalism

Roy Swan of Ford Foundation on His New Book Positive Sum and Fixing Zero-Sum Capitalism

Roy Swan, Head of Mission Investing at the Ford Foundation, joins Georges Dyer to talk about his new book, Positive Sum: How Zero Sum Thinking Broke Capitalism and How We Can Fix It. Drawing on his experience running Ford Foundation's mission-related investing program, Roy makes the case for positive-sum capital allocation, not as a values position, but as a measurable efficiency argument. For endowment leaders, CIOs, and trustees weighing how fiduciary duty applies in a more complex world, this conversation grounds the debate in economic theory, historical precedent, and portfolio-level evidence rather than advocacy. In this episode, Roy and Georges discuss: * The research behind the $50 trillion figure — economic research Roy cites on lost economic output from exclusionary, zero-sum systems, plus supporting data from Citigroup and MIT Sloan on worker disengagement * The mathematical origins of zero-sum and positive-sum thinking (von Neumann and Nash) and why the distinction matters for capital allocation * How Ford Foundation's mission-related investing program is structured across themes like affordable housing, financial inclusion, and responsible technology * Why fiduciary duty and positive externalities are increasingly inseparable for foundations, pensions, and sovereign wealth funds This conversation is intended to inform institutional decision-making and does not constitute investment advice. Listeners should consult a qualified professional before making investment decisions. --   Resources mentioned in this episode: IEN 2026 Annual Forum 📅 November 18–20, 2026 📍 University of Toronto, ON 🔗 https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-annual-forum [https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/20%EE%80%8026-annual-forum] * Roy Swan’s Book Positive Sum: How Zero Sum Thinking Broke Capitalism and How We Can Fix It: https://a.co/d/046uE19t [https://a.co/d/046uE19t] * RAND Corporation, Trends in Income From 1975 to 2018 (Carter C. Price & Kathryn A. Edwards) → https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-1.html [https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-1.html]  * Citigroup research on the cost of racial and economic inequality (est. $16 trillion, ~2000–2020) https://www.citigroup.com/global/insights/closing-the-racial-inequality-gaps-20200922 [https://www.citigroup.com/global/insights/closing-the-racial-inequality-gaps-20200922] * MIT Sloan / Good Jobs Institute research on worker engagement and its cost to the economy (Prof. Zeynep Ton) https://goodjobsinstitute.org/ [https://goodjobsinstitute.org/] --   General Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:17 Why Foundations Separate Endowment from Mission 08:39 Sponsor: IEN 2026 Annual Forum 09:11 The Mathematical Roots of Zero-Sum vs. Positive-Sum Thinking 13:36 Milton Friedman and Why Nations Fail: Rethinking Economic Orthodoxy 23:07 The $50 Trillion Cost of Zero-Sum Thinking, Explained 26:32 Worker Engagement, Culture, and the KKR Proof Point 28:47 Inside Ford Foundation's Mission-Related Investing Portfolio 41:37 Who Needs to Lead the Shift to Positive-Sum Capital 52:27 Roy's Vision for the Future of Finance

3 Systemic Stewardship Levers Every Institutional Investor Needs | Caroline Escott

In this episode, Georges Dyer is joined by Caroline Escott, Head of Investment Stewardship and Co-Head of Sustainable Ownership at Railpen, the in-house manager for the UK Railways pension schemes overseeing £34 billion on behalf of over 350,000 members. Together they walk through Railpen's December 2025 case study “Systemic Stewardship: The Financially Material Imperative” produced with the Investment Integration Project (TIIP) and Sinclair Capital, distilling five years of live implementation into a framework any asset owner can learn from. What you'll learn: * How to deploy company engagement, policy influence, and collaborative initiatives as distinct levers and when each one is the right tool for the job * How to identify "systemically important" companies in your portfolio whose governance decisions create ripple effects across entire sectors * How to adapt your stewardship approach when the regulatory and political environment shifts without abandoning your financial materiality goals * Where to start if you're a smaller or mid-sized asset owner without Railpen's internal resources or scale For CIOs, trustees, and investment teams thinking about how to move from ESG integration to genuine market influence, this episode delivers a concrete, evidence-based framework built over five years of live implementation. Resources mentioned: * 📄 Systemic Stewardship: The Financially Material Imperative - Railpen, TIIP & Sinclair Capital (December 2025): https://www.railpen.comhttps://www.railpen.com/insights/reports/systemic-stewardship-the-financially-material-imperative/ [https://www.railpen.com/insights/reports/systemic-stewardship-the-financially-material-imperative/] * 🌐 Investment Integration Project (TIIP): https://www.tiiproject.com [https://www.tiiproject.com] * 🌐 Sinclair Capital: https://www.sinclairca.comhttps://www.sinclaircapital.com/ * 🎙️ Business Pants Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/2q1oewA1uEEmTjwKZfDJnp [https://open.spotify.com/show/2q1oewA1uEEmTjwKZfDJnp] * 📋 Railpen Annual Stewardship Reports: https://www.railpen.com [https://www.railpen.com] General Timestamps:   00:00  Introduction & US SIF Forum 2026 02:10  Why Every Large Investor Should Think Like a Universal Owner 06:45  The TIIP Case Study — Grounding the 3 Levers in Fiduciary Duty 12:00  Lever 1: How to Use Company Engagement for System-Wide Change 20:30  Lever 2: Why Policy Engagement Is Often More Efficient Than Company Engagement 29:15  Lever 3: How to Build Collaborative Initiatives That Actually Work 38:40  How to Adapt Your Levers When the Regulatory Environment Shifts 44:50  How Smaller Asset Owners Can Apply All 3 Levers Without Railpen's Scale 50:20  What Happens When Asset Owners Use Their Collective Sway   – The Future of Finance podcast is produced by the Intentional Endowments Network. New episodes explore how institutional capital can be deployed to build more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable financial systems. – *Disclaimer*   The information presented in this episode reflects the views and opinions of the guest and does not constitute investment, legal, or regulatory advice. The Intentional Endowments Network does not endorse any specific products, services, or organizations referenced herein.

Reframing Financial Markets Through a Systems Lens featuring Genevieve Hayman | TIIP 2026 Symposium

Researcher’s View: Reframing Financial Markets Through a Systems Lens Genevieve Hayman, Senior Researcher @ CFA Institute Research and Policy Center To deepen the analytical foundations introduced earlier in the day, Genevieve Hayman of the CFA Institute Research and Policy Center presents findings from her 2025 report (co-authored with Raymond Pang), Reframing Financial Markets as Complex Systems.   The session explores why viewing markets as dynamic, interconnected systems—rather than static, equilibrium-driven constructs—can materially improve how investors understand risk and design portfolios. Hayman introduces tools from complex systems science, including agent-based modeling and network theory, and explains how these concepts can enhance systemic risk analysis, illuminate feedback loops, and support more resilient portfolio construction.

How Investor Bias Affects Capital Allocation & Returns with Daryn Dodson of Illumen Capital

Investor bias isn't just a philosophical concern, but a measurable drag on portfolio performance.   Daryn Dodson, Founder and Managing Partner of Illumen Capital and faculty member at Stanford Graduate School of Business, joins Georges Dyer to discuss how systematic bias causes institutional allocators to pass over high-performing managers, what peer-reviewed research reveals about how this dynamic intensifies at higher performance levels, and how Illumen Capital's decade-long bias-reduction curriculum is designed to surface overlooked alpha and drive systems-level change in capital markets. Key themes covered: * How bias causes institutional allocators to leave measurable returns on the table — and why the problem compounds as manager performance increases * The architecture of Illumen Capital's fund-of-funds model: bias reduction training across three operational areas (deal sourcing, talent, and board selection) sustained over a full 10-year fund cycle * Evaluating first-time fund managers across investing, fundraising, and operations — and the structural barriers that affect managers from underrepresented backgrounds * The case for diversity in financial ecosystems: why a more representative asset management industry is a systemic performance question, not simply a political one Daryn's foundational research, conducted with Professor Jennifer Eberhardt and the Stanford SPARQ Center, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and ranks in the top 1% of papers in its publication period.   – Resources Mentioned: Illumen Capital: https://www.illumencapital.com [https://www.illumencapital.com] Research Paper — "Race Influences Professional Investors' Financial Judgments" (PNAS): https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1822052116 [https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1822052116] Impact Experience: https://www.impact-experience.com/ [https://www.impact-experience.com/] Stanford SPARQ Center https://sparq.stanford.edu [https://sparq.stanford.edu] Book: Enlightened Bottom Line by Jenna Nicholas https://www.jenna-nicholas.com/book [https://www.jenna-nicholas.com/book]   –   General Timestamps:   00:00 Introduction & US SIF Forum 2026 Announcement 02:45 Illumen Capital: Fund-of-Funds Model and Founding Thesis 07:10 Stanford SPARQ Research: How Bias Affects Allocator Decision-Making 13:20 Bias Reduction in Practice: The 3 Operational Areas 19:50 First-Time Fund Managers: Evaluating Investing, Fundraising & Operations 26:15 Why a Fund-of-Funds Structure Fits a Systemic Problem 31:40 Stanford Business School: Teaching Impact Business Models 36:55 Political Polarization, External Stressors & Investor Decision-Making 41:30 CFA Research Policy Council & Institutional Education 44:50 Impact Experience: Sustained Behavior Change Through Environment 52:10 Retro Analysis, Backcasting & the Long-Term Vision for Capital Markets   –   Daryn Dodson Bio:   Daryn Dodson is Managing Director at Illumen Capital, the world's first private equity firm dedicated to addressing bias across financial markets to unlock returns and impact.  Illumen Capital invests in the world’s top impact fund managers and applies research-based interventions in partnership with Stanford University to help fund managers to see past bias to add value.   Daryn previously led the Special Equities Program, as the Private Equity and Venture consultant to the Calvert Funds, the $45 billion pioneer of the impact investing field. Through this vehicle, Calvert maintains a portfolio of more than 40 funds on five continents, representing over 350 underlying portfolio companies across a range of themes including renewable energy, biotech, education technology and microfinance.   Daryn currently serves on the Board of Directors for Ben and Jerry’s, The National Advisory Board of Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University, and The National Theater in Washington, DC. Daryn is a lecturer in General Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he earned his M.B.A., after receiving an A.B. in Public Policy from Duke University.   – The Future of Finance podcast is produced by the Intentional Endowments Network. New episodes explore how institutional capital can be deployed to build more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable financial systems. –   *Disclaimer* The information presented in this episode reflects the views and opinions of the guest and does not constitute investment, legal, or regulatory advice. The Intentional Endowments Network does not endorse any specific products, services, or organizations referenced herein.

Applying Fiduciary Duties to System Level Investing | Maurits Dolmans, TIIP 2026 Symposium

Fiduciary Duty in Focus Applying Fiduciary Duties to System-level Investing   Tools and dashboards are only actionable if they are grounded in fiduciary clarity. Maurits Dolman (Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, speaking in his own capacity) and George Suttles (Commonfund Institute) examine how fiduciary duty—properly understood—requires investors to consider risks and responsibilities that arise at the level of the financial system itself. Drawing on trust and pension law and comparative fiduciary practice, they argue that prudence today must account for foreseeable, material systemic risks such as climate change, inequality, and financial instability. The session makes the case that system-level investing is not a departure from fiduciary duty, but it’s necessary evolution in an era where long-term portfolio performance depends on system resilience.   Discussants: Maurits Dolmans, Senior Counsel @ Clearly Gottlieb George Suttles, Executive Director @ Commonfund Institute