PridePlanners Knowledge Circle: LGBTQ Values Investing

Kirsten Meder, CAIA, CMT, Director, is an ESG/SRI Investment Strategist at Aperio by BlackRock. Kirsten joined BlackRock in 2020, including her prior years with Aperio, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of BlackRock in 2021. In this role, Ms. Meder works closely with clients to align their equity portfolios with their values. She works closely with the ESG and Portfolio Management teams in the evaluation of ESG data sets and the creation of new strategies and works with Aperio's Research Team on projects related to ESG issues.

Ms. Meder brings with her over 15 years of investment industry experience. Prior to joining Aperio, she was a Portfolio Manager at Lattice Strategies (acquired by Hartford Funds), where she was responsible for managing strategic and tactical multi-asset SMA portfolios for high-net-worth clients and for allocating to liquid alternative investments. Additionally, Ms. Meder spent several years working for Bank of America/Merrill Lynch as a Research Analyst, where she was a generalist on their fund of hedge funds team. She also served as a Staff Scientist at Columbia University, studying infrared galaxy spectra from the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Ms. Meder holds a MA degree in Social Entrepreneurship and Change from Pepperdine University, and a BA degree in Astrophysics and Physics from the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds CAIA and CMT professional certifications and can be found hiking around the Bay Area with her pack of golden retrievers when she's not baking, gardening, gaming, or hanging with her husband and kids.

Tori Ferguson is a Client Relationship Manager for Aperio. Aperio's Business Development team focuses on client service and partnering with advisors to build hyper-customized, cost- and tax-efficient portfolios that meet their clients' unique needs

Prior to joining the Aperio Business Development team, Tori spent 5 years at Morgan Stanley in Private Wealth Management as a Client Service Associate. In that role, she was responsible for servicing her team's ultra-high net worth clients as well as focusing on prospecting and business development efforts.