Investing always evolves. The investing challenges of the 21stcentury are new, destabilizing and systemic. They involve complex, interconnected global issues that impact societies and economies. To maximize returns while minimizing risk, investors need to consider the interplay and interdependencies between their investments, the real economy, and the complex challenges of our environmental, social, and financial systems. System-level investing does just that.
Building on and going beyond traditional finance theory and sustainable investing practices, system-level investing recognizes the need for capital markets to be able to efficiently create investment opportunities from a flourishing real economy, which in turn, depends on robust social, financial, and environmental systems.
At the same time, investing influences those systems. The feedback loops are complex. System-level investors intentionally seek to manage their impacts on global systems, recognizing that mitigating systemic risks can reduce investment risk and enhance returns. Doing so, however, requires new investment strategies that directly address challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, racial and gender injustice, income inequality, and food and health systems fragility, among others.
"The Handbook on System-Level Investing offers a timely and comprehensive synthesis, bringing together leading practitioner and academic perspectives to demonstrate how systemic risks can shape long-term market outcomes. It serves as a useful reference for those interested in how system-level investing is applied in practice.” — Genevieve Hayman, PhD, Senior Researcher at CFA Institute
“The Handbook on System-Level Investing is vital reading for anyone at any stage of their system-level investing journey. It provides both timely inspiration and practical advice, drawing on real-life examples and insights from some of the world’s leading authorities in this space.” — Caroline Escott, Head of Investment Stewardship and Co-Head of Sustainable Ownership, Railpen
"As a former foundation CEO responsible for stewarding a large, mission-driven endowment, I have seen firsthand how difficult it is to translate concern about systemic risks — from climate instability to inequality — into coherent investment strategy. Many institutions acknowledge that these forces shape long-term portfolio outcomes. Far fewer have a practical framework for responding to them.
The Handbook on System-Level Investing provides that framework. Bill Burckart and Jon Lukomnik move the conversation beyond point solutions to address a more fundamental question: how can large asset owners influence the systems that determine long-term economic resilience and societal well-being?
This book is rigorous, pragmatic, and deeply attuned to fiduciary reality. It offers trustees, investment committees, and asset managers a clear architecture for aligning capital with systemic stability and long-term value creation. For anyone serious about building an impact economy, this handbook is essential reading. — Kieron Boyle, CEO, 100x Impact; former CEO, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation
