Miller/Howard Investments is a private firm which manages investment portfolios for a range of clients, including high net worth individual investors and large institutions. ¹ Miller/Howard focuses on managing portfolios targeted towards left-of-center policy in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas. Miller/Howard uses strategic investment and shareholder advocacy to push left-of-center corporate policy, specifically on environmental issues. Miller/Howard is also a member of a several left-of-center ESG coalitions, including the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR).

History

Miller/Howard was founded in 1984 to provide quantitative and technical research on large capitalization stocks to large corporate clients, including companies like Delta Airlines and Federal Express. ² In 1989, Miller/Howard conducted a study on long-term returns in the utilities industry, shifting its investment focus towards “internal compounding” asset management strategies centered around utilities in 1991. ³

In 1991, Miller/Howard also launched its first ESG strategy, integrating portfolio management with shareholder advocacy efforts, including the filing of shareholder resolutions, the use of proxy voting, and involvement in public policy. ⁴

Coalition Memberships

In 1996, Miller/Howard joined the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a faith-based organization which uses strategic investment and shareholder initiatives to promote left-of-center social change. ⁵ In 2004, Miller/Howard joined Ceres as a collaborator, becoming a full coalition member in 2007. ⁶ Ceres is a nonprofit organization which works with investors and corporations to push left-of-center environmental policy. ⁷

In 2017, Miller/Howard joined We Are Still In, a coalition of organizations, states, and cities which remained committed to the goals of the Paris Accords in spite of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the environmentalist agreement. ^{8 9} Through its membership in We Are Still In, Miller/Howard expressed a commitment to considering climate change in portfolio analyses and signed onto the Climate Action 100+ initiative to secure commitments from corporate boards to reduce carbon emissions and engage in climate government. ¹⁰ Miller/Howard also supports shareholder initiatives which advocate for mandatory annual sustainability disclosures for over 5000 companies. ¹¹

In its partnership with We Are Still In, Miller/Howard has expressed interest in promoting stricter climate regulation policies at the state and local levels. ¹² On the company’s We Are Still In profile, Miller/Howard expresses interest in advocating for strict environmentalist policies from local governments, programs which limit methane and other greenhouse gas emissions, and the aggregation of demand for environmentalist energy to push innovation in the utility sector. ¹³

Miller/Howard is also a member of Green America, an organization which promotes environmentalist policy alongside a full left-of-center social agenda. ¹⁴

Shareholder Resolutions

Miller/Howard has various shareholder resolution initiatives, most notably regarding left-of-center environmental initiatives, drug policy, and corporate governance. Since 2014, Miller/Howard has filed nearly 200 shareholder resolutions in a range of industries, with a focus on the energy and utilities sector. ¹⁵ Over the last decade, Miller/Howard has become increasingly involved in promoting left-of-center environmental policy through corporate action, launching four engagement campaigns to push for increased corporate climate regulations. ¹⁶

In 2017, Miller/Howard became a financial supporter of Disclosing the Facts, an organization which publishes an annual report on the thirty largest publicly traded oil and gas producers in North America, ranking each company on environmental disclosures and corporate governance. ^{17 18} Despite Miller/Howard’s environmentalist policy in shareholder resolutions and left-of-center coalition memberships, Miller/Howard officials continue to promote investment in conventional energy, specifically in liquefied natural gas. ¹⁹

In 2018, Miller/Howard initiated a direct-action campaign to push midstream energy companies responsible for transporting fossil fuels to make environmentalist disclosures. ²⁰ Miller/Howard released an open letter to the management teams of these midstream companies and now credits the letter with inspiring corporate disclosures of private ESG initiatives. ²¹ For the past ten years, Miller/Howard has led an environmental disclosure campaign to push corporations to disclose information regarding fracking, emissions, and the impact of chemicals on the environment. ²²

People

Lowell G. Miller is the founder and chief investment officer of Miller/Howard investments. ²³ Miller is a frequent source for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and Fortune. ²⁴ Miller has also written three books on investing. ²⁵

Luan Jenifer is the current president and head of ESG at Miler/Howard. ²⁶ Jenifer previously served as the chief operating officer of Miller/Howard.

1. “MHI Home .” Miller/Howard Investments. Accessed December 9, 2019. http://www.mhinvest.com/.
2. “Firm.” Miller/Howard Investments. Accessed December 9, 2019. http://www.mhinvest.com/firm.html.
3. “Firm.” Miller/Howard Investments. Accessed December 9, 2019. http://www.mhinvest.com/firm.html.
4. “ESG.” Miller/Howard Investments. Accessed December 9, 2019. http://mhinvest.com/esg.html.
5. “Our ESG Approach to Investing.” Miller/Howard Investments. 2018. http://www.mhinvest.com/files/pdf/ESG_Policy_0168_2018.pdf
6. “Our ESG Approach to Investing.” Miller/Howard Investments. 2018. http://www.mhinvest.com/files/pdf/ESG_Policy_0168_2018.pdf
7. “About Us.” Ceres. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.ceres.org/about-us.
8. “Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.” We Are Still In. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.wearestillin.com/organization/millerhoward-investments-inc.
9. “Home.” We Are Still In. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.wearestillin.com/.
10. “Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.” We Are Still In. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.wearestillin.com/organization/millerhoward-investments-inc.
11. “Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.” We Are Still In. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.wearestillin.com/organization/millerhoward-investments-inc.
12. “Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.” We Are Still In. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.wearestillin.com/organization/millerhoward-investments-inc.
13. “Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.” We Are Still In. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.wearestillin.com/organization/millerhoward-investments-inc.
14. “Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.” Green Business Network Member Listing. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.greenamerica.org/green-business/millerhoward-investments-inc.
15. “Miller/Howard Investments Engagement Tracker.” Miller/Howard Investments. 2018. http://mhinvest.com/files/pdf/ESG_Engagements_data_2469_2018.pdf
16. “Our ESG Approach to Investing.” Miller/Howard Investments. 2018.            http://www.mhinvest.com/files/pdf/ESG_Policy_0168_2018.pdf
17. “Our ESG Approach to Investing.” Miller/Howard Investments. 2018. http://www.mhinvest.com/files/pdf/ESG_Policy_0168_2018.pdf
18. “Transparency and Risk in Methane Emissions.” Disclosing the Facts. Accessed December 10, 2019. http://disclosingthefacts.org/.
19. Doorn, Philip van. “You Might Profit Handsomely for Decades with This Bet on Natural Gas.” MarketWatch, June 4, 2017. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/you-might-profit-handsomely-for-decades-with-this-bet-on-natural-gas-2017-05-30.
20. “2018-2019 Shareholder Advocacy & Engagement Report.” Miller/Howard Investments. 2019. http://mhinvest.com/files/pdf/ESG_SA_Annual_Report_2438_2437_2436_20190628.pdf
21. “2018-2019 Shareholder Advocacy & Engagement Report.” Miller/Howard Investments. 2019. http://mhinvest.com/files/pdf/ESG_SA_Annual_Report_2438_2437_2436_20190628.pdf
22. “2018-2019 Shareholder Advocacy & Engagement Report.” Miller/Howard Investments. 2019. http://mhinvest.com/files/pdf/ESG_SA_Annual_Report_2438_2437_2436_20190628.pdf
23. “People.” Miller/Howard Investments. Accessed December 10, 2019. http://mhinvest.com/people.html.
24. “People.” Miller/Howard Investments. Accessed December 10, 2019. http://mhinvest.com/people.html.
25. “People.” Miller/Howard Investments. Accessed December 10, 2019. http://mhinvest.com/people.html.
26. Kozlowski, Rob. “Miller/Howard Investments Promotes COO to President.” Pensions & Investments, August 2, 2019. https://www.pionline.com/money-management/millerhoward-investments-promotes-coo-president.