Investing

In recent years, impact investing has become mainstream and private equity (PE) firms are playing a key role. Despite being dismissed by some as "woke capitalism", impact investing is a trend that is here to stay. Impact investments seek to create a positive impact by investing in sustainable companies, this includes ethical companies with a social and environmental purpose. The goal is to support organizations with measurable societal benefits.  A shift is reverberating throughout the investment community as it is becoming increasingly clear that investors are being drawn to the enduring quality of impact investments.  PEs are changing systems and control...

Green private equity is a vital funding mechanism that helps entrepreneurs and companies secure sustainable venture capital. Capital for private equity is raised from retail and institutional investors, and can be used to fund new technologies, expand working capital within an owned company, make acquisitions, or to strengthen a balance sheet. The majority of private equity consists of institutional investors and accredited investors who can commit large sums of money for long periods of time. Private equity investments often demand long holding periods to allow for a turnaround of a distressed company or a liquidity event such as an IPO...

Just in time for Christmas a cautionary tale of two power plants is warning investors to be wary of fossil fuels. As predicted by many the evidence is mounted to support the contention that dirty energy is destined to be stranded assets. The closure of coal powerplants all around the world corroborate this prediction. Here are two examples from opposite sides of the world that demonstrate how once dominant coal powered powerplants are being replaced by renewable sources of energy causing investors to lose billions of dollars.  The imposing smoke stacks that towered 775 feet above Arizona's Navajo Generating Station...

The fossil fuel divestment movement has come a long way and this increasingly includes mainstream institutions. Banks, insurance companies and investors are all making the case that fossil fuels are dying.  Now we are seeing another wave of divestment from municipal governments and academic institution that make it even harder to ignore the impending demise of fossil fuels. The city of New York is divesting roughly $5 billion in city workers’ pension funds from fossil fuel companies. Recently lawmakers that city introduced a resolution that formally demands that the banks, asset managers and insurance giants with which the city government...

Women control $14 trillion of personal wealth in the U.S. and they are an important part of the rapidly growing impact investing market. According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GINN) the size of the impact investing market doubled between 2017 and 2018 to $228 billion in assets under management. The investing community is still very much a male-dominated world.  Between 80 and 90 percent of hedge fund managers, financial advisors, and traders are male. However, this is changing as illustrated by the recently launched Impactive Capital LP,  whose co-founders are two women by the name of Christian Asmar and...

Stock market losses associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) equals the cost of climate adaption over the next decade.  Standard and Poor's 500 recorded a $1.7 trillion loss in two days of trading due to coronavirus. This is roughly equivalent to the estimated cost of climate adaption until 2030. This according to a 2019 report from the Global Commission on Adaptation which is led by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, World Bank chief executive Kristalina Georgieva and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as well as and 31 other world leaders. The report indicated that investing $1.8 trillion in climate adaptation could yield benefits...

“I’m done with fossil fuels. They’re done. They’re just done. We’re starting to see divestment all over the world.” - CNBC’s Jim Cramer The fact that investors, insurance companies and banks are abandoning the fossil fuel industry is a clear sign that coal, oil and gas are in the final stage of their energy dominance. Those who refuse to come to terms with this fundamental reality will by punished financially and in the court of public opinion. Jim Cramer is a stock market pundit and he sees the writing on the wall. "I’m done with fossil fuels. They’re done. They’re...

There has been tremendous growth in sustainable investing in the US. This finding has been borne out in a new report released on November 14th 2016. The biennial report on US Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact Investing Trends was created by the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment and the US SIF Foundation. This is the only report of its kind in the US. It provides extensive data on assets using one or more sustainable investment strategies and examines a broad range of significant ESG issues such as climate change, human rights, weapons avoidance, and corporate governance. Additionally, for the first...

It is becoming increasingly apparent that fossil fuels represent a substantial risk that should make investors wary. Fossil fuel reserves, including oil, gas and coal will be rendered obsolete in the coming decades, leaving investors holding valueless investments. A plethora of peer reviewed science tells us the curbing fossil fuel use is key to climate mitigation. From widespread calamitous coastal flooding to devastating extreme weather events the need to urgently act on climate change has finally been accepted by every nation on earth. The economics of climate action is sound. A cost benefit analysis reveals the overwhelming logic. We must...

If 2014 was a good year for socially responsible investing (SRI), and impact investing, 2015 was even better. Last year we saw significant growth in this new wave of value embedded capitol allocation. The world is changing and a growing number of investors realize that responsible investing is a world changing financial opportunity. Both SRI and impact investing refers to investing capital with the intention of producing social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns. Strategies include things like incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decision making. Although SRI and impact investing share many features in common they...