Without oil, Rockefeller Brothers Fund demonstrates mission-aligned outperformance

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the legacy to the heirs of the founder of Standard Oil, exited its fossil fuels investments a decade ago. Since then, the leaders of the $1.4 billion endowment has sought to prove that mission-aligned investing can deliver strong returns and lower risk. 

The results are in: between 2014 to 2024, the fund delivered an annualized return of 7.76%, outperforming its benchmark by more than 100 basis points each year, with 27% less volatility.

The results are detailed in a new report, “Returns, Risk, and Responsibility: How the Rockefeller Brothers Fund Invests for Long-Term Value and the Public Good,” produced with The Investment Integration Project, or TIIP.

The report arrives as RBF navigates a leadership transition and a volatile political climate for ESG investing. 

“While we are very excited about what we’ve achieved, we’re also quite sober about how hard it is going to be to continue down this path and continue achieving the same kinds of results,” Stephen Heintz, the foundation’s president, told ImpactAlpha. Heintz, who has led Rockefeller Brothers Fund since 2001, plans to step down next year. 

When RBF declared in 2014 that it would divest from fossil fuels, the move was met with skepticism, especially given the foundation’s legacy in the oil industry. At the time, Heintz recalled, few other foundations were prepared to take the same leap.

“We did get some pushback from peer institutions,” Heintz said. “Transparency is really important to help persuade others, whether other foundations or other investors, and it’s also an important way for us to invite feedback from others and to be challenged,”

Three Lessons

The foundation made its holdings public, showed up at conferences, and issued several case studies on its progress. The new report highlights a broader shift in the market –  Institutional investors are more open to impact strategies, and fund managers are responding. 

“We’re seeing lots more deal flow, as it were, than we were seeing in the beginning of this journey,” Heintz said. “RBF and other institutional investors who are working on this have really helped create that demand.”

Heintz outlined three key lessons behind the fund’s performance and its influence on the broader field.

Adaptability and discipline. Impact investing requires a dynamic mindset. RBF remained nimble while staying grounded in its long-term vision. “One has to be nimble and adaptable and adjust strategies over time to reflect the current situation,” said Heintz. 

Radical transparency. Public accountability has been central to RBF’s strategy. “We owe it to the public to be accountable,” said Heintz. “And the method of being accountable to them is through transparency.” 

Rigor in execution. The foundation relied on top-tier advisors, internal staff, and disciplined diligence. Heintz acknowledged that measuring impact remains challenging but called it one of the most important areas for continued improvement. 

Systems level thinking

RBF has embraced systems-level investing, a framework developed by TIIP that guides investors to shape the social, environmental, and financial systems that underpin long-term value. The approach goes beyond managing individual holdings to deploy tools such as shareholder engagement, proxy voting, public policy advocacy, and ecosystem building to drive systemic change.

RBF adopted the model as its work on climate, democracy, and equity increasingly overlapped. Institutional investors like The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), The Surdna Foundation, and Domini Impact Investments are among a few that have adopted a systems level approach to their framework. 

“We are seeing systems failure, and those failures have profound implications,” said Heintz. “Unless we are thinking at a systems level and thinking across systems, we will not get to the place we need to be.”

The report also caps a career for Heintz that spanned RBF’s evolution from a conventional foundation into a standard-bearer for values-aligned investing. Under his leadership, the fund more than doubled its assets—from under $700 million to $1.4 billion—and helped shape a new era of mission-driven capital deployment.

“I certainly hope, and have every expectation that my successor and the board and my colleagues on the staff will continue to advance this approach, because it’s now become really embedded in the culture,” he said.

“I’m hopeful that a new leader will bring new ideas and also a different experience that can actually accelerate and advance this work.”