SRI pioneer Rian Fried of Clean Yield Asset Management dies aged 65

Rian Fried, the co-founder and president of US sustainable fund management firm Clean Yield Asset Management, has died after a short illness aged 65.

He founded the Vermont-based firm with Doug Fleer in 1984 and Clean Yield said Fried left the business on a “strong upward trajectory, with a reputation for uncompromising ethical standards”.

“For many of you, Rian was your portfolio manager, and his being the open person that he was, you almost certainly knew him also as a friend,” the firm said on its web site. It added he had been diagnosed with lung cancer a few weeks ago, but he succumbed more quickly than expected.

Staff at the firm include former Trillium Asset Management portfolio manager Eric Becker who is Chief Investment Officer. Director of Social Research & Advocacy Shelley Alpern joined, also from Trillium, late last year. Managing Director Elizabeth Glenshaw, a former board member at the US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, was most recently with the Calvert Foundation.“As co-founder of Clean Yield, his uncompromising ethical standards set the bar for our industry,” said Trillium CEO Matthew Patsky. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and our colleagues at Clean Yield.”

Clean Yield, known for working closely with its clients, is a member of the US SIF, Green America, and the Slow Money Alliance and an affiliate member of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility.

In March Clean Yield was among a group of investors which pressed Bank of America to restrict its investments in the coal industry alongside 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben and Harvard linguist and campaigner Noam Chomsky. And in January the firm was among those calling for an end to political contributions at Chevron, Bank of America, 3M, Target, Starbucks, ExxonMobil and EQT.

Fried is survived by his wife, Rachel, and his daughter Dorigen Hofmann, who is a portfolio manager at Clean Yield.