As careful and responsible stewards of capital, we acknowledge the growing impact that environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") issues may have on the success of investment portfolios and therefore on the results we deliver for our investors. While pursuing our investment objectives, we are also mindful of the impact our activities and those of our portfolio managers and underlying operating companies may have on local communities, broader society and the environment. We believe that a strong commitment to identifying and incorporating ESG factors into our work is consistent with our goals of delivering value to our partners and serving as a responsible corporate citizen.
We have formed a working committee responsible for ongoing "responsible investing" research, ESG integration and monitoring, and future initiatives to enable our clients to address their varying responsible investing goals.
We are integrating ESG into our research and due diligence procedures.
We will explore future opportunities to expand our role as a responsible investor.
We will be a resource and partner for our clients' responsible investing needs.
In our view, one of the most effective ways to incorporate such issues is to integrate them into our research and operational due diligence processes whenever practicable. Our implementation and integration of ESG factors does not replace fundamental or technical analysis, nor will it be the sole or absolute determinant, when making investment decisions for the GT Funds. Rather, ESG analysis will be performed in conjunction with our manager and investment evaluation. Our research approach is one of inclusion, and we believe ESG information and related risks will be additive to our investment process.
We are committed to encouraging our managers to adopt their own Impact/ESG policy statements and to take ESG factors into consideration when making investment decisions. While we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to ESG, we believe it is important to be an active voice advancing these initiatives as responsible investors.
We are committed to creating positive change in the places we live and work but recognize there is much work ahead. We are a proud citizen of the Memphis community and have supported its health and well-being throughout our history. At both the individual and corporate level, we support numerous non-profit organizations through board memberships, volunteer hours, and capital contributions. Our policy granting each employee time to actively volunteer each month enables widespread community engagement. While our time and dollars span sectors, we are proud of our legacy of supporting public education in Memphis by serving as founding and active board members at several local charter schools.
We have been successful due to the longevity, stability and diversity of our staff. Gerber Taylor values this aspect of our business, and we will continue to be intentional as we grow the personnel ranks. Our responsibility as a corporate citizen remains an evolving endeavor whereby Gerber Taylor will continue to be active in its pursuit of positive outcomes for multiple constituencies, at work and in the community at large.