Slow money in an age of fiduciary capitalism

Abstract

In the era of fiduciary capitalism, investors have begun fulfilling non-financial goals in order to address the concerns of a broader range of stakeholders. Socially responsible investors – who were part of fringe movements headed by non-profit organizations – have emerged as powerful fiduciaries with a strong focus on triple-bottom line based outcomes. The slow money movement, which has been spear-headed by non-profits in the developed world, places a strong emphasis on making capital circulate locally, especially within agricultural communities. Slow money investors across the US, some of whom are private investment funds and community development financial institutions, are striving to generate triple-bottom line based outcomes.In our study, we have discussed how the slow money movement mirrors fiduciary capitalism. We have analyzed how slow money investors have expanded the scope of traditional fiduciary obligations. Five organizations in the US have participated in our research and we developed a seven-point taxonomy of slow money to analyze our findings. Our findings revealed how slow money investors, as fiduciary capitalists, generate financial, social and environmental returns by investing ‘patient capital’ in agriculture and local enterprises.