Welcome to another edition of our Goodegg Investor Spotlight, where we highlight members of our investor community living their Life by Design and offering inspiration through real life examples of what’s possible when people decide to invest in creating a better life. Read on to learn more about our Goodegg investor, John.
I am grateful to Annie, Julie, and the Goodegg team for the chance to be a part of your community. As one of your limited partners, I appreciate the chance to invest in a way that creates a positive impact in communities along the way.
My family and I live in Chicago, IL. My wife and I have two teenagers, one in college and one in high school. I was born in New York and grew up in Boston. We moved to Chicago when I became president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2019. You may know the MacArthur Foundation for its fellowship program–popularly known as the “genius grants”–through which we provide unrestricted support for creative individuals who are making a positive impact in the world. We make grants in a wide array of fields, mostly to non-profits in the United States, India, and Nigeria, where we have offices.
I appreciate the chance to be an investor on a personal level in Goodegg in part because I believe in the idea of impact investing. In my work life at MacArthur Foundation, impact investing is a big part of our program. We have been doing impact investing for decades as an institution. We also aspire to invest our endowment, with assets over $8 billion, in a way that aligns with our values and mission as an institution. We seek out good returns so we can give out grants to our partners who use the funds to do good in the world; we also seek social returns on all our impact investments. At MacArthur, we actively seek out managers for our funds with diverse teams, including people of color and women managers, and where the investments themselves can help bring about the kind of sustainability we support in our grantmaking, for instance through our climate solutions program.
In my personal life, I am glad to be able to invest with Goodegg in a similar way. I believe that the chance to invest in workforce housing, treating people fairly, and giving back to specific communities is aligned with the role I hope to play in the world generally. I believe Goodegg does these things well from what I can observe. For my personal retirement funds, I have long used ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) index funds and have sought out managers of color to ensure a sound retirement future for my family. One example would be Ariel Investments based in Chicago with whom I invest retirement funds, as well as TIAA for ESG investments. Goodegg allows me to diversify into private real estate with managers who care about the social impact of their work. I have invested with you through after-tax accounts as well as my Health Savings Account (HSA), carried over from a previous employer, mostly in your multi-family syndication deals.
I know a big part of the Goodegg philosophy is to lead a “life by design.” For me, that involves being able to invest in a way that aligns with my values and my family’s values. I love my work in philanthropy–working for MacArthur Foundation is a “dream job” for me–and I prioritize spending time with my family. I want to be able to be laser-focused on my work in philanthropy and I want to be home for dinner with my family as much as possible. We like to hike in Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine for a few weeks every summer. My “life by design” involves a happy and healthy family and the ability to be a good community member in the places we work and live.
Some people want to retire as early as possible; I’d like to work as long as I’m able to contribute while also being a reliable member of my family and community. Putting capital to work with Goodegg as a passive investor is an excellent fit with this long-term vision of a life by design.
A heartfelt thank you to John for sharing your journey with our Goodegg community!
If you’re interested in being highlighted, please reach out to Janae directly via email [email protected] or text 415.516.1418. We look forward to connecting with you!
