Daniel Nielsen

Head of ESG and Responsible Investing, Great Lakes Advisors

Daniel P. Nielsen is a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Specialist at Great Lakes Advisors where he is an integral part of the firm’s investment teams and is involved in new product development. Dan also oversees the firm’s ESG integration and responsible investing initiatives, working to identify and incorporate material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment strategies and to create socially responsible investment portfolios that align with clients’ values and performance goals.
 
Prior to joining the firm in 2015, Dan was the Director of Socially Responsible Investing at Christian Brothers Investment Services where he developed and implemented investment screens, directed corporate engagement activities, and managed proxy voting. He has focused on sustainable and responsible investing since 2005. Dan previously worked at Wespath (part of the United Methodist Church) where he led shareholder advocacy work for its $16 billion pension fund.
 
Dan holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in Chinese language and literature from the University of Maryland. He was part of the first cohort to earn the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) credential offered by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Dan has served on the board of directors of US SIF – The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing, the steering committee of the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), and as chair of the board of directors for the Center for Economic Progress. Dan lives in Chicago with his wife and two daughters.