Last fall, Ou was on a field trip to Portland, Maine, with other members of Bowdoin's THRIVE group when he met Scott Budde ’81, who was hosting a networking event for the students with his wife and international children's TV producer Charlotte Cole ’82.
"Scott told me he had twenty-five years of experience in consulting and financial services—industries I'm interested in—and he told me about his current project," Ou said.
That project is the state's first credit union aimed at supporting local agriculture and Maine's food economy. Maine Harvest opened last October in Unity; Governor Janet Mills, US Senator Angus King, and US State Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden all attended.
"Brian was just very inquisitive," Budde said. "We got to talking."
So when Ou asked whether he could intern for Maine Harvest, Budde welcomed him. This summer, Ou is working remotely for the credit union from his home in Los Angeles. His project is to create a financial and qualitative analysis of fifteen mission-oriented credit unions in the US. His research has helped Maine Harvest calculate its rates for products like five-year CDs.
Maine Harvest uses its deposits from credit union members to make loans—for equipment, land, or closing costs—to small farmers and food producers who practice sustainable methods and direct-to-consumer business.
"Maine is a great place to do this for a lot of reasons," Budde said. "It has strong institutions around farming and a great resurgence of small farms. But there are financing gaps—legitimate needs for financing that are not easily fed by existing sources of funding."
Ou said that his internship has opened his eyes to impact investing. "I think that impact and ESG [environmental, social, and governance) investing will become much more relevant and important in finance," he said. "In my research, there is evidence pointing out that millennials, my generation, care much more about how our investments reflect our values and what we believe in.
He added that millennials will also be receiving the largest shift of intergenerational wealth in a decade or so, "so the demand for more environmentally and socially-aware investment products will definitely rise."
More younger people, he added, are choosing not to invest in global corporations like oil and gas companies and tobacco companies, or are demanding more accountability from them.
These insights are shaping the way Ou is thinking about his career. He'd like to focus on impact-oriented investments—whether with a well-established company like Vanguard or at smaller investment management firms like hedge funds.
"Working with Maine Harvest this summer has opened up a new niche path in finance that I really look forward to exploring further," he said. "Because the whole point of finance shouldn't just be about making money, but also making a positive change in communities and the world."
