Smarter Money
Personal Finance | November 9, 2023
Educating young investors to build impactful retirement portfolios
Upon graduating college and starting that first âbig kid job,â the older and wiser adults in your life always tell you to open …
Personal Finance | June 14, 2023
Targeting solutions with impact ETFs, âcut carbon notesâ and other new investment products
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 14 â A new family of exchange-traded funds will align around companies that derive the bulk of their revenues from solutions for …
Photo by Bitwise.
Industry News | June 7, 2023
Meltdown at Bitwise leaves employees, cities and investors in limbo
ImpactAlpha, June 7 â The Fresno-based upskilling company and social venture darling fired its co-founder CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., days …
Personal Finance | October 5, 2022
Five steps to greening your 401(k) â and why itâs harder than it should beÂ
Seems like it shouldn’t be that hard: Build a portfolio from the better sustainable funds. Add them to your companyâs 401(k) fund lineup. …
Personal Finance | September 8, 2022
Young savers, if not Republican governors, want their banks out of fossil fuels
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 â Politicians that seek to ban ESG investing are up against some serious headwinds from the next generation. âBanking with …
Impact Voices | November 30, 2021
How to invest sustainably with a robo-advisor
ImpactAlpha, November 30 â Robo-advisors are online financial advisors that manage investments primarily using computer algorithms underpinned by the Modern Portfolio Theory. Typically, …
Personal Finance | November 15, 2021
How to find a socially-responsible bank
ImpactAlpha, November 15 â Itâs no secret that many traditional banks use customer deposits to fund companies in industries that may not align …
Personal Finance | October 19, 2021
How to ride the climate transition with more than a dozen exchange-traded funds
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 19 â Clean energy. Batteries. Smart grids. ESG funds and clean energy ETFs tracking elements of the climate transition took off in …
Dealflow | September 21, 2021
Steward raises $8.8 million to expand online lending for sustainable farms
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 21 â Steward pools investments from individuals to provide capital to sustainably run farms, fisheries, and food producers. Since it was …
Personal Finance | September 13, 2021
Seven ways U.S. retail investors can invest and bank sustainably
Everyday investors, as well as large asset managers and institutions, are flocking to ESG and impact investing. As many as 95% of millennials …
Jessica Brooks, Sunwealth
Walking the Talk | August 31, 2021
Sunwealth’s Jessica Brooks: Investing in a better world for all of our kids
I was tucking my oldest son into bed when the question came. âMom, have you ever wanted to go to bed and not …
Photo by Jan KopĆiva on Unsplash
Climate Finance | August 25, 2021
Investing in climate-smart farms to accelerate the net-zero transition
In case you havenât seen the headlines â or havenât experienced the extreme weather events yourself â climate change is here. In the …
Walking the Talk | June 30, 2021
Lisette Cooper: Shareholder activism for our daughters’ daughters
On a winter evening in early 2017, I met with a close friend, a former venture capital professional, for dinner in Harvard Square. …
Ivy Jack, NorthStar Asset Management
Walking the Talk | April 15, 2021
Ivy Jack: This moment demands more than investing money
As a child growing up in Baptist churches in Louisiana, I would hear older folks say âPrayer changes things.â Throughout tough periods over …
Walking the Talk | February 16, 2021
Nick Flores: Channeling my passions and purpose into my portfolio
Back in 2017, I started receiving questions about my personal portfolio from industry peers.1 Like me, none of them had a $10+ million …
Photo credit: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Dealflow | February 1, 2021
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative spins off criminal justice reform activities
ImpactAlpha, February 1 â Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the mission-focused company launched by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, is allocating $350 …
Walking the Talk | January 25, 2021
Patricia Farrar-Rivas: How I invest for equity
I grew up the daughter of an Air Force officer and a homemaker. We did not have a lot of money, but as …
April 2019 White Hall JC Photography Christopher Lane
Good Business | November 3, 2020
Q&A: How ESG pioneer Amy Domini is finding impact alpha in âsustainable solutionsâ
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 3 â At an earlier peak of COVID pandemic, Domini Impact Investments launched a mutual fund that looked a little different than …
Policy Corner | November 2, 2020
Investor protests fail to stop Trump administration rule squelching ESG investing
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 2 â Itâs final â at least until itâs reversed. The U.S. Department of Labor finalized an unpopular rule aimed at …
Dealflow | October 29, 2020
Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation launches $80 million fund for early-stage social entrepreneurs
ImpactAlpha, October 29 â California-based Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation has launched an $80 million fund to make flexible equity and debt investments and …
Features | October 28, 2020
Why investing corporate cash to close racial wealth gaps can shore up long-term growth
Technology has enabled some big winners in the world of commerce. The five largest U.S. companies by market cap â Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, …
Dealflow | October 26, 2020
Mastercard deposits $20 million through CNoteâs network of community development financial institutions
ImpactAlpha, October 26 â Mastercard’s has made a $20 million deposit with Oakland-based CNote to boost the lending power of community development financial …
Financial Inclusion | October 22, 2020
Investments in financial inclusion and agriculture deliver impact
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 22 â ImpactAlpha has covered hundreds of investments aiming to drive access to finance and more sustainable agriculture. Two reports from …
Dealflow | October 22, 2020
Humana backs a âhealth outcomes fundâ to expand addiction treatment and support services
ImpactAlpha, October 22 â Healthcare network Humana is investing $5 million to enable nonprofit Volunteers of America to boost capacity and extend critical …
Inclusive Economy | October 22, 2020
SOCAP takes stock of impact investing in a changed world
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 22 â The different mood at this weekâs impact investing gathering reflected not just the contrast between an online event and …
Catalytic Capital | October 20, 2020
Pay-for-success funds in San Francisco and Colorado raise $10 million for nonprofits
ImpactAlpha, October 20 â Two new funds aim to streamline pay-for-success (sometimes called social impact bonds) and make it easier for nonprofits to …
Dealflow | October 20, 2020
Impact Engine steps into private equity with $31 million growth fund
ImpactAlpha, October 20 â Early-stage fundraising is difficult. Finding mission-aligned growth capital can be just as hard. Most of the few impact-oriented private …
2030 Finance | October 19, 2020
What’s on at SOCAP 2020
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 19 â âRadical changeâ is a fitting theme for this yearâs SOCAP, which kicks off virtually today on computer screens everywhere. …
2030 Finance | October 15, 2020
Legal & General burnishes âstewardshipâ credentials with push for aggressive climate action
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 14 â Out: Quiet engagement with executives. In: naming and shaming recalcitrant corporations. As more institutional asset owners look for active …
Features | October 14, 2020
Asset managers compete on impact as investors move beyond ESG
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 14 â As passive ESG funds emerge as the hottest trend in financial services, active asset managers are touting their âimpact …
Dealflow | October 6, 2020
Jonathan Rose closes $525 million impact fund for affordable housing
ImpactAlpha, October 6 â New York-based real estate investor Jonathan Rose Companies spotted the opportunity in buying, preserving and greening affordable housing earlier …
Features | October 5, 2020
With policy prompts, private equity fund managers can drive social benefits, too
Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, an economy officially in recession, and a stock market that seems increasingly divergent from the experience …
Dealflow | September 30, 2020
Greenhouse venture AppHarvest will reach the Nasdaq before its tomatoes reach consumers
ImpactAlpha, September 30 â High-tech greenhouse grower AppHarvest, which will go public via an acquisition by Novus Capital Corp., ticks the boxes for …
Dealflow | September 29, 2020
Insurer QBE backs Save the Childrenâs impact fund
ImpactAlpha, September 29 â Save the Children, best known for its humanitarian aid work, has reached a $6 million first close for an …
Features | September 29, 2020
Corporate impact face-off: Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas
Impak Battles, an ImpactAlpha series with impak, a Montreal-based impact ratings agency, assesses the positive and negative impact of corporate operations. Each month, …
Impact Management | September 29, 2020
Laggards get booted from ESG club
ImpactAlpha Sept. 29 â S&P Global dropped companies generating more than 5% of their revenues from thermal coal from its environmental, social and …
Dealflow | September 28, 2020
Citi Impact Fund secures $50 million to invest in Black entrepreneurs
ImpactAlpha, September 28 â Citi launched its $150 million impact fund in January to invest its own capital in companies addressing workforce development, …
Dealflow | September 28, 2020
Blue Meridian, Schmidt Futures back âcareer impact bondsâ via Social Financeâs UP Fund
ImpactAlpha, September 28 â Career impact bonds finance vocational training with the kind of income-share agreements offered by an increasing number of universities …
Dealflow | September 24, 2020
MacArthur Foundation commits $25 million to COVID recovery and election integrity
ImpactAlpha, September 24 â MacArthur Foundation has made grants totaling $10 million to organizations supporting Black, Native and other under-represented groups disproportionately affected …
Africa | September 24, 2020
Reinsurance firm Africa Specialty Risk Group launches with backing from Helios
ImpactAlpha, September 24 â Reinsurance firm Africa Specialty Risk Group launches with backing from Helios. Africa Specialty Risk Group, or ASR, will offer …
Walking the Talk | September 17, 2020
Matthew Patsky: Finding my tribe in an unexpected place
Most middle-school-aged children are focused on their small life bubble: impressing their friends with their new sneakers or making sure they do their …
Clean Energy | September 17, 2020
Aligned closes $1 billion sustainability-linked credit to green data centers
ImpactAlpha, September 17 â Data centers are consuming huge amounts of electricity. Dallas-based Aligned uses energy-efficient cooling systems and has committed to 100% …
Beats | September 16, 2020
COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs rallies support for frontline enterprises
ImpactAlpha, September 16 â Social enterprises need new sources of capital, as well as non-financial support, to maintain and expand operations now that …
Beats | September 16, 2020
Constructing ESG portfolios that go beyond stock selection to mitigate systemic risk
Can asset managers, RIAs and other fiduciaries act both as responsible fiduciaries as well as promote long-term societal good through their investment actions? …
Dealflow | September 15, 2020
Bridges Fund Management and AEA Investors to float $400 million âimpactâ SPACÂ
ImpactAlpha, September 15 â Bridges Fund Management and AEA Investors filed to float a $400 million public offering for AEA-Bridges Impact Corp., a …