Appleseed Capital Named to Best for the World Changemakers List; New Award Recognizes Top-Performing B Corps

Appleseed Capital, an investment and financial advisory firm that incorporates environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") criteria into its investment decision-making process, has been named to the 2017 Best for the World: Changemakers Awards List.

This is the first year Appleseed Capital has been nominated for the list, created by B Lab, the independent non-profit that certifies companies as B Corps based on rigorous standards for social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. The list recognizes those Certified B Corps that have made verified, significant improvements in their business policies and standards.

Appleseed Capital—which provides impact-focused, value-oriented investment management services for investment professionals, foundations, family offices and individual investors—has been a Certified B Corp since 2015, and is the only Illinois-based investment advisor with that designation.

"Becoming a B Corp was a wonderful opportunity to formalize what we've been doing all along, namely focusing on sustainable investing and trying to make a positive difference in the world by how we approach our clients, our employees, our community and our investment decisions," said Adam Strauss, Appleseed Capital CEO. "We're thrilled to be recognized for our continuing work going above and beyond maintaining the rigorous standards of certification, and using business as a force for good."

The independent, employee-owned, fee-only firm manages a mutual fund (Appleseed Fund: APPLX) and customized impact investing strategies for its wealth management clients that are focused on sustainable investments in a range of asset classes from markets around the world.

"Making a positive difference is an obligation for all companies. We're proud to provide our clients with investments that allow them to sleep well at night, knowing that their assets are being managed in a way that matches their values," Strauss added.

About Appleseed Capital

Based in Chicago, Appleseed Capital is a research-oriented boutique wealth management firm that provides customized portfolio management services and personal financial planning advice. Its investment professionals combine decades of experience with socially responsible investing and on the operational side of socially and environmentally responsible companies. The combination of investing and operating experience enables the firm to better identify undervalued, high-quality, sustainable companies for potential investment. The firm acts as a fiduciary with all of its clients and investors, and is committed to managing investment portfolios and conducting its business operations with the highest level of integrity. To learn more, visit appleseedcapital.com.

About B Lab Best for the World Changemakers List Selection Process

B-Lab recognized 846 (out of 2,310) certified B Corporations for the 2017 Best for World List. Appleseed Capital was recognized in the category of Changemakers. The Best for the World: Changemakers list honors the certified B Corps with the most verified improvements on questions in the B Corp Impact Assessment over time. This inherently restricts eligibility to Certified B Corps who have completed at least two verified B Corp Impact Assessments. The algorithm used to calculate the Changemakers list assesses positive change made on individual questions. Efforts were made to exclude what is termed "standards-based change," such as changes in score resulting from a company moving to a different track or version of the assessment. This leaves behind only genuine improvements a company has made, and Honorees on the Best for the World: Changemakers list represent the top 20th percentile on this measure as of June 20th, 2017. Appleseed Capital pays a membership fee to B-Lab but has no other affiliation.

You should carefully consider the investment objectives, potential risks, management fees, and charges and expenses of the Fund before investing. The Fund's prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund, and should be read carefully before investing. You may obtain a current copy of the Fund's prospectus by calling 1-800-470-1029.

The Appleseed Fund is distributed by Unified Financial Securities, LLC.

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