In June 2025, protestors flooded the streets of Los Angeles in response to a new wave of ICE raids that targeted immigrant communities with little warning—and even less accountability.
At the same time, a different kind of unrest was spreading through boardrooms, universities, and government agencies, as backlash against DEI initiatives reached new heights. From sweeping federal orders dismantling diversity programs to state-level bans and corporate rollbacks, the fight for equity is facing its most aggressive resistance in years.
To some, these may seem like separate struggles—immigration enforcement and corporate diversity policy. However, for those who understand the interconnected nature of justice, it is deeply intertwined. And for Adasina Social Capital, they’re a reminder that capital is never neutral.
For the past five years, Adasina has worked to prove that justice investing isn’t a trend—it’s a discipline. One rooted in history, backed by data, and guided by deep community alignment.
Founded as a Black-led, majority-women, majority-POC, and LGBTQ+-led firm, the firm currently oversees more than $350 million in assets under advisement. Every investment decision is shaped by the movements influencing our world, connecting the typically unseen dots between protest lines and public markets.
A Strategy Born From Movements
Adasina calls its approach movement-aligned investing: a deliberate model that channels capital toward systems-level change. This means aligning portfolios with the values of social justice movements—and just as importantly, excluding the companies and industries that cause harm.
Its strategy is rooted in partnership. Investment criteria are informed not just by financial analysis and data, but by the lived expertise of activists, organizers, and frontline communities. When the Movement for Black Lives calls out the role of policing in wealth extraction, or immigrant justice advocates highlight abuse within private detention, the team listens—and acts.
Their portfolios don’t just reflect a risk-return profile. They reflect a worldview. And that worldview is one that today’s investors, especially younger generations and values-driven institutions, are increasingly seeking.
Capital That Moves With Purpose
The events of this summer have only reinforced the need for action. ICE’s tactics aren’t just political—they’re a market risk. Companies complicit in immigration abuses face legal exposure, reputational fallout, and long-term instability.
Meanwhile, the DEI backlash has revealed just how performative some corporate commitments were to begin with—and why investors need better tools to separate rhetoric from real progress.
For Adasina, that’s the work: identifying which firms are truly aligned with justice and giving investors a clear path to support them.
This is where portfolio alignment comes in. Rather than merely screening out bad actors, the firm’s model builds portfolios that proactively advance racial, gender, economic, and climate justice.
It’s a shift from reactive investing to responsive investing, from avoidance to mobilization.
A Call to Action for Capital Allocators
The firm’s growth is a signal to the broader investment community: movement-aligned investing is not only viable—it’s scalable, strategic, and essential.
For trustees, asset managers, family offices, and institutional allocators, the message is clear: there are partners like Adasina who are designing investment strategies for this moment and the future. Strategies that don’t sacrifice long-term stability in pursuit of short-term gain. Strategies that understand that doing good and doing well aren’t at odds, they’re inextricable, especially over the medium-to-long term.
“Our growth is a signal to the industry that aligning capital with justice isn’t a constraint, it’s a catalyst,” said Danielle Burns, Adasina’s Managing Director of Growth. “As we scale, we’re proving that investors don’t have to choose between financial performance and social progress; they can advance both. We’re not just reacting to the moment—we’re building what comes next.”
At a time when the streets are once again filled with protest and the pushback against progress is growing louder, the firm’s approach offers something increasingly rare: clarity, credibility, and a compass for what’s next.
Ready to align your portfolio with purpose?
Learn more about Adasina’s movement-aligned investing approach at adasina.com.
