What HIP Investor does

HIP Investor Inc. is a privately held, SEC-registered investment adviser founded in 2006 in San Francisco, operating in the ESG and impact investing segment of asset management. The firm builds and maintains the HIP Ratings system, a quantitative-based proprietary dataset that scores 400,000+ global corporations, U.S. municipal issuers, REITs, and securities on human, social, and environmental impact dimensions, with 10 million+ data points accessible via an online portal, API, and datafeed. The ratings engine is organized around HIP's Five Pillars framework (Food and Water, Overpaid CEOs, Climate Action, Racial and Gender Equality, and Transparency) and is mapped to external standards including UN SDGs, TCFD, SFDR, and SASB.

The company operates three revenue streams: (1) investment advisory and portfolio construction services for institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals, (2) licensing of HIP Ratings and data products to fund managers, RIAs, and financial professionals, and (3) eight separately managed account (SMA) strategies covering themes such as climate solutions, science-based targets, sustainable REITs, global dividends, fossil-free exclusions, and the recently launched HIP Global 50 Impact Portfolio. Distribution spans direct relationships and platform partnerships with Altruist, Goldman Sachs/Folio, Charles Schwab, and Freedom Advisors. Go-to-market is sales-led with content-marketing reinforcement via the firm's LinkedIn presence, weekly newsletter, published books, and earned media in Barron's, WSJ, Bloomberg, NYT, Forbes, and CNBC.

The firm is registered as an investment adviser in California, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina, with no identified parent company, external institutional shareholders, or funding rounds in the source data. Leadership consists of founder and CEO R. Paul Herman. The business model combines recurring subscription/licensing economics on the data side with fee-based AUM economics on the SMA side, and is anchored by 20 years of brand presence and registered servicemarks (HIP, HIP Investor, HIP 100, How HIP Is It?).

Name

HIP Investor

Legal name

HIP Investor Inc.

Website

https://HIPinvestor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HIP Investor is a San Francisco-based ESG impact investing firm, founded in 2006, that operates the HIP Ratings platform covering 400,000+ securities and distributes eight SMA strategies to institutional, RIA, retail, and municipal clients via platforms including Schwab, Goldman Sachs/Folio, and Altruist.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

ESG Impact Investing & Sustainability Ratings

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Values-Based/ESG & Impact-Focused RIAs (FSAAACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

ESG/Sustainable Investment Advisory (FSAEAAAJ), ESG/Sustainable & Thematic Digital Investing Platforms (FSAGAEAK), Sustainable/ESG Equity (Active) (FSAAAIAM)

Keywords

• ESG impact investing
• Sustainability ratings
• Separately managed accounts
• Investment advisory services
• ESG data analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Services: Registered investment adviser providing portfolio management and advisory services to institutional clients and high-net worth individuals. Services include portfolio analysis and construction of impact-focused investment portfolios.
2. Data and Ratings Licensing: HIP Ratings and data products licensed to fund managers, advisers, and other financial professionals. 400,000+ ratings available via API and datafeed.
3. Managed Account Strategies: HIP-managed higher-impact portfolios offered through platforms and directly. Multiple separately managed account (SMA) strategies covering climate solutions, science-based targets, Great Place to Work, Sustainable REIT, Global Dividends, Fossil Free 100, and HIP 100 portfolios.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HIP Investor is a registered investment adviser that produces quantitative ESG impact ratings covering 400,000+ stocks, REITs, and U.S. municipal bonds and licenses this data through the HIP Ratings Portal, API, and datafeed to fund managers, RIAs, and other professionals. The firm also designs, manages, and distributes multiple separately managed account (SMA) strategies (HIP 100, Fossil Free 100, Sustainable REIT, Global Dividends, Climate Solutions, Science-Based Target, Great Place to Work, and the Global Growth 50 Impact Portfolio) and provides portfolio advisory services to institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals.

Product overview

HIP Investor is an ESG impact investing firm offering a comprehensive ratings platform and multiple separately managed account (SMA) strategies. The core product is the HIP Ratings Portal providing 400,000+ quantitative ratings of stocks, REITs, and municipal bonds with 10M+ data points accessible via API. The company offers nine distinct investment strategies including the HIP Global 50 Impact Portfolio, HIP Climate Solutions SMA, HIP Science Based Target SMA, HIP Great Place to Work SMA, HIP Sustainable REIT SMA, HIP Global Dividends SMA, HIP Fossil Free 100 SMA, HIP 100 SMA, and Sustainable 401(k)s. These strategies are available directly and through platforms including Altruist, Goldman Sachs/Folio, Charles Schwab, and Freedom Advisors. HIP Investor also publishes the HIP Investor book (2010) and the Global Handbook of Impact Investing (2021).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HIP Global 50 Impact Portfolio: International leaders creating sustainable innovation and transformation investment portfolio.
• HIP Climate Solutions SMA
• HIP Science Based Target SMA
• HIP Great Place to Work SMA
• HIP Sustainable REIT SMA
• HIP Global Dividends SMA
• HIP Fossil Free 100 SMA
• HIP 100 SMA
• HIP Ratings Portal
• HIP x UN SDGs
• ESGX.org

Products and services

• HIP Ratings Portal Online platform delivering quantitative ESG impact ratings of 400,000+ securities, with 10 million+ data points accessible via API and datafeed, for institutional investors, RIAs, and individual investors.
• HIP Global 50 Impact Portfolio HIP's 8th strategy, a separately managed account investing in international leaders creating sustainable innovation and transformation.
• HIP Climate Solutions SMA Separately managed account focused on climate solutions impact investing.
• HIP Science Based Target SMA Climate action top 10 portfolio aligned with science-based targets.
• HIP Great Place to Work SMA ESG portfolio investing in companies recognized as great workplaces.
• HIP Sustainable REIT SMA Sustainable real estate ESG portfolio of REITs.
• HIP Global Dividends SMA Sustainable global dividends separately managed account.
• HIP Fossil Free 100 SMA Exclusion portfolio excluding fossil fuel companies from large-cap core ESG universe.
• HIP 100 SMA Large-cap core ESG portfolio of stocks with positive HIP Impact Ratings.
• Sustainable 401(k)s Retirement investment solution incorporating ESG and impact investing principles for employer-sponsored plans.
• Corporate Ratings Sustainability ratings for global corporations measuring human, social, and environmental impact.
• Municipal Data and Ratings ESG impact ratings and data for U.S. municipal bond issuers.
• Climate Threat Resilience Ratings Ratings assessing companies' resilience to climate-related threats.
• HIP x UN SDGs Mapping of HIP ratings to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework.

Quantifiable outcome

• HIP's proprietary ratings help identify impact investments that may reduce risk while pursuing higher returns

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2021HIP Investor became a signatory for the Principles for Responsible Investment in October 2021, demonstrating commitment to responsible investment practices and alignment with global ESG standards.
• AltruistcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHIP investment strategies are available on the Altruist platform, making impact investing accessible to individual investors through this brokerage platform.
• Goldman Sachs/FoliocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHIP strategies are offered through Goldman Sachs/Folio institutional platform, providing access for institutional and high-net-worth clients.
• Charles Schwab & Freedom AdvisorscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHIP investment strategies are available through Charles Schwab and Freedom Advisors, expanding distribution to retail and advisory clients.
• VanEckminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIP CEO R. Paul Herman appeared on VanEck's Trends with Benefits podcast discussing investing in sustainable communities. VanEck's Real Assets ETF gained 16.5% in Q1 2026. VanEck provides investment opportunities and media exposure for HIP.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Major ESG and impact ratings provider for institutional investors. Direct competitor to HIP's quantitative sustainability ratings across corporates and sovereign/municipal issuers, with overlapping Five Pillars-style frameworks.
• ISS ESG: Specialist ESG research, rating, and screening provider used by institutional investors and asset owners. Closely comparable to HIP across corporate sustainability ratings and framework-aligned reporting.
• Calvert (Eaton Vance / Morgan Stanley): Long-standing impact investing firm with ESG-tilted equity, fixed income, and municipal strategies. Direct comparable to HIP in mission, product type, and HNW/institutional client base, now backed by Morgan Stanley.
• Parnassus Investments: Pioneer in ESG-integrated mutual fund strategies for retail and institutional clients. Closely comparable to HIP's separately managed accounts in product structure and impact-tilted equity mandates.
• Trillium Asset Management: Independent impact investing firm offering ESG-tilted strategies and shareholder engagement. Comparable to HIP on values-based RIA positioning and impact-focused portfolio construction.
• Impax Asset Management: Publicly listed specialist in sustainable investment strategies across equities and fixed income. Comparable to HIP on mission, separately managed account offerings, and institutional client focus, at much greater scale.

Broad incumbents

• MSCI ESG Research: Largest ESG rating provider globally, serving institutional asset managers with ratings, screens, and analytics. Overlaps directly with HIP's enterprise data and ratings licensing and strategy benchmarking, but at vastly broader scale.
• S&P Global Sustainable1: Integrated ESG data, ratings, and indices arm of S&P Global. Competes with HIP across corporate ESG ratings, climate analytics, and framework-mapped data (TCFD, SFDR, SASB) for the same institutional buy-side customers.
• Bloomberg ESG Data: Embedded ESG data offering on the Bloomberg Terminal for institutional investors. Comparable to HIP's API/datafeed model, though typically used for point-in-time data lookups rather than impact-tilted portfolio construction.

Emerging players

• SustainFi / Just Capital: ESG data and analytics platform focused on stakeholder performance rankings of U.S. corporates. Comparable to HIP's quantitative ratings approach and Five Pillars-style thematic methodology, with a broader consumer/brand presence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/212076
• Xx.com/HIPinvestor
• Facebookfacebook.com/HIPinvestor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HIP Investor