ROYAL OAK, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reink Media Group, the company behind investor.com, StockBrokers.com, and a portfolio of trusted sites that help consumers vet financial products and services, announced today that it has become a certified B Corporation™. Earning its B Corp certification furthers Reink Media’s mission to make the world a safer place for investors while embracing an ethical, environmentally conscious business model.
“Pursuing a purpose-driven mission is in our DNA,” said Blain Reinkensmeyer, Reink Media Group co-founder. “We are thrilled to join the movement of people using business as a force for good, and to lead by example by showing that companies in the financial services industry can successfully balance profit and purpose.”
Certified B Corporations are for-profit companies legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders. B Corps must meet the high, independently verified standards of social and environmental performance and public transparency with a legal commitment to making a positive social and environmental impact.
Reink Media Group, which produces data-driven, unbiased reviews of financial products and services, earned its B Corp status after an in-depth review of the effect of the company’s operations and business model on its workers, community, customers and the environment by B Lab, a nonprofit network that certifies B Corporations.
Since its founding in 2009, Reink Media has followed a people-before-profits approach by:
- Building tools to help individuals find trusted advice: In 2015, the White House Council of Economic Advisors calculated the annual cost of conflicted investment advice for consumers to be around $17 billion. Reink Media Group launched investor.com in 2018 to help individuals pull a full background check on more than 16,000 registered investment advisory firms. The investor.com proprietary Trust Algorithm identifies potential conflicts of interest (based on more than 500,000 data points culled from multiple industry databases) and generates a list of key questions for individuals to ask any financial firm they’re considering hiring.
- Producing reader-first content: The company’s coverage of online trading platforms for self-directed investors continues to be the standard-bearer for impartial, comprehensive, reader-first content. The “pay to play” model — in which advertising dollars can influence a company’s rating — that other content producers use comes at the expense of consumers’ best interests. Financial services providers cannot pay Reink Media to alter a review, modify an opinion, or inflate a star rating. Reink Media’s editorial team operates independently of its advertising team in order to maintain strict objectivity. Readers can use Reink Media’s research tools without sharing private or personal information.
- Minimizing the company’s environmental impact: Reink Media actively measures and publicly reports its emissions, and takes active steps to reduce the company’s environmental impact. In addition to purchasing carbon offset credits and switching to 100% renewable energy at its Michigan headquarters, the company continuously adds to its long list of environmentally friendly workplace policies and has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2030.
- Helping global customers avoid investment scams: In the world of global investments, there is no shortage of fraudulent players and financial products. Reink Media’s team at ForexBrokers.com tracks the regulatory status, licensing, and financial health of businesses across 23 international regulatory jurisdictions to help global investors find an investment broker they can trust.
- Distributing profits to charities: On top of purposeful donations made on behalf of Reink Media Group, each year a percentage of company profits is allocated to every employee to donate to qualified 501(c)(3)s of their choice.
- Ensuring and promoting employee autonomy: Flexible work hours, matching 401(k) contributions, annual 401(k)-based profit-sharing, full-coverage insurance, and unlimited paid time off are merely the baseline of Reink Media’s employee benefits. Reink Media provides employee stipends for technology, education, meals, and an all-expenses-paid, nonworking annual retreat for all team members. Reink Media operates under the ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) philosophy that emphasizes autonomy, accountability, and producing (and celebrating) outstanding results.
“These efforts are just the beginning of Reink Media’s journey to make positive changes in its business operations for the greater good of society and the environment. As a B Corp, we’re showing that our impact on people and the planet is a key metric of business success,” said Reink Media Group co-founder Brandon Reinkensmeyer.
In a commitment to continuous improvement and increasing the company’s social and environmental impact, Reink Media Group will undertake the assessment and verification process every three years to maintain its B Corp certification.
About Reink Media Group
Reink Media Group, LLC (RMG) is a privately held Michigan-based company founded in February 2009. RMG's mission is to provide financial education and advice that puts people first before profits. Properties include: investor.com, StockBrokers.com, UK.StockBrokers.com, ForexBrokers.com, StockTrader.com and BrokerNotes.co. RMG and each of its domains are B Corp certified. For more information, visit ReinkMedia.com.
Reink Media Group’s B Corp Impact Report is publicly available on bcorporation.net (at bcorporation.net/find-a-b-corp/company/reink-media-group-llc) where readers can compare B Corp scores against the performance of mainstream businesses.
About B Lab
B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Its vision is that one day all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the Best for the World® and as a result society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity. B Lab drives this systemic change through its global community of Certified B Corporations. It helps tens of thousands of businesses, investors, and institutions Measure What Matters, by using the B Impact Assessment and B Analytics to manage their impact -- and the impact of the businesses with whom they work -- with as much rigor as their profits. For more information, visit Bcorporation.net/en-us/ and Bthechange.com.
