Muni investors see through mispriced risks to find alpha and impact. Lower risk: Bonds issued by high-performing school districts that serve low-income populations. Higher risk: Issuances that fund entertainment complexes that disrupt and displace residents of majority minority neighborhoods. Rampant misperceptions, and mispricing, of demographic risk in the $4 trillion municipal bond markets has left opportunities for impact, and alpha, hiding in plain sight. Investors with more intentional strategies for racial equity are finding them, with help from advisors with unique analytics and ratings that can cut through legacy gaps in information and transparency. “Investors that are smart, that really want to beat the market, that want to see opportunities and not be beholden to past thoughts on race, are beginning to see the opportunity,” says Homero Radway of Activest, an investment research firm that will launch its “fiscal justice” fund strategy next month (see, “Activest’s FIRE strategy seeks to bend the arc of municipal finance toward fiscal justice”).
Gender-inclusive strategies to unlock value in Africa's small businesses. Nairobi-based AlphaMundi Foundation is helping turn challenges for women into opportunities for impact. With support from DEG Impulse's develoPPP program, the foundation worked with Value for Women to help five East African portfolio companies build resilience and competitive advantage through workforce empowerment and value chain inclusivity initiatives.
Mercy Corp Ventures backs Tappi to boost economic and climate resilience in Africa's small businesses. Flooding and droughts, which disrupt logistics, damage stock, depress consumer spending and raise the cost of goods, affect nearly all informal and small businesses in Africa's biggest markets, according to Mercy Corp Ventures. It can take up to a year for a small business owner to recover. The impact venture fund is backing Nairobi-based digital services company Tappi to foster small business economic and climate resilience. "Digitization of small businesses [is] key to building a more resilient network of small businesses across emerging markets,” Mercy Corp Ventures' Dan Block told ImpactAlpha. The firm invested in Tappi's $1.5 million pre-seed round alongside Chui Ventures, SOSV and other investors.
Down and out in Dubai. COP28 negotiators will spend the next two days wrangling over details of a final agreement as the sprawling climate conference draws to a close. Goals such as tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030 are relatively easy lifts. The stickiest debate, and the one that will determine how the United Arab Emirates’ COP presidency is remembered, is whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuels – or punt on the issue altogether. More than 80 countries want the “phase out” language, but large oil producers like Saudi Arabia remain opposed to even phasing down their chief money-maker. OPEC has urged its members to reject any mention of fossil fuels. China’s top climate envoy called COP28 “the hardest meeting” in his 16 years of COP negotiations. (It won’t be much easier next year, when COP29 takes place in Azerbaijan, another autocratic, oil-rich country). Focusing on cutting emissions without addressing their main source is “like trying to cut with one half of the scissors,” says Tzeporah Berman of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (see, “Winding down production to fulfill the Paris Agreement”).
Erick Berkerts will step down as CEO of Evergreen Climate Innovations at the end of this year. Michelle Carr, ex- of The Nature Conservancy, will replace Berkerts as CEO… RMI is looking for a remote strategic planning and growth manager… International Finance Corporation is hiring an investment analyst for climate and sustainable finance in Washington, DC… Amalgamated Foundation has openings for a community stewardship director and a growth and impact director.
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – That women are more adversely affected by climate change is well established (in impact and development circles at any …
This week’s Agents of Impact Call continued a tradition started nearly a decade ago by Fran Seegull of the US Impact Investing Alliance …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 29 – It’s the age-old struggle: labor vs capital, workers vs. owners. But what happens when employees get a stake in the …
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – A growing ecosystem of Native-led entrepreneurs, lenders, financial intermediaries and nonprofits are driving Indian Country’s emerging economy. “It’s kind …
ImpactAlpha, July 28 – Most historically Black colleges and universities were formed during the Reconstruction era. In the more than a century since, Spelman, …
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 22 – Even as some politicians ramp up anti-ESG rhetoric, asset owners and allocators are signaling an appetite for investment strategies …
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 31 – The search for a universal metric to guide investments in racial justice and equitable wealth-building was…aspirational. “We are still a …
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 – “A labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 9 – The fatal beating by police of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month exposed risks to the city’s finances that have …
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 18 – Cities around the U.S. are raising low-cost capital in the municipal bond markets by highlighting intentional efforts to address long-standing …
ImpactAlpha, September 30 – Capital to support women’s economic growth and financial inclusion is flowing – finally! – in many advanced economies. In emerging …
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 19 – Investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and world leaders have descended on New York for Climate Week, the annual gathering alongside the …
The numbers tell the story: overall attendance at COP28 is up threefold from last year – and the number of fossil fuel lobbyists …
Private foundations collectively control more than a trillion dollars of capital invested across a variety of traditional asset classes. A small portion of …
ImpactAlpha’s Amy Cortese speaks with Full Cycle’s Stephan Nicoleau at the start of COP 28 to hear what he’s expecting – and hoping …
Pension funds, with hundreds of billions in long-term assets, can be a key source of capital for impact investors and entrepreneurs. Black, Indigenous, …
The Wilmington coup of 1898 is not as well known as the Tulsa massacre of 1921. But the events of that day changed …
ImpactAlpha’s Dennis Price catches up with María Hollan, a second-generation steward of her family’s assets at Timke Ventures in Mexico City. Hollan was …
David Bank catches up with Courageous Capital Advisors’ Laurie Spengler to talk about what the mainstreaming of impact investing means for smaller impact …
Graham Singh shares the financing mechanisms that Trinity Centres Foundation is developing for repurposing churches. And, David Bank shares ImpactAlpha’s big news. Plus, …
Unicef USA’s Cristina Shapiro joins David Bank to introduce child-lens investing, a framework for considering investment harms and benefits to children, who have …
Roraj Pradhananga and Jane Swan of Veris Wealth Partners join host Monique Aiken to discuss how the wealth manager is rethinking due diligence …
Host Brian Walsh shares highlights from this week’s agents of impact call, “The employee-ownership edge,” which explored the range of opportunities for investing …
David Bank is joined by Marjorie Kelly of The Democracy Collaborative to explore the ways that impact investors both help and hinder systemic …
This crypto rally can be different. Crypto’s rise, then fall, then recent rise again, presents an opportunity for venture capitalists to invest more …
Editor’s Note: Community Finance Brief is weekly newsletter from Matt Posner of Court Street Group, now syndicated on ImpactAlpha. When a town, city …
Institutional investors – aka, limited 0artners, or LPs – are increasingly integrating sustainability into their investment processes for private markets. That requires managing …
The backlash against investing for racial equity has only grown since last summer’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down the use of race …
An expanding range of financing mechanisms and vehicles are emerging to help private capital providers direct money and resources to their small business …
As the private sector has become increasingly engaged in the effort to combat climate change, debates have emerged about the impact and legality …
The private equity industry, known for its focus on efficiency improvements and earnings growth, has expanded dramatically in the past decade, tripling assets …
There is an urgent race to curb rising temperatures and prevent the worst effects of climate change. This is reflected in a growing …
The impact-first philosophy that Ceniarth has championed has had its fair share of challenges. But we remain convinced that it is critical to …
Private equity has a significant opportunity to create financial and societal value through sustainability. PE firms that invest in improving the management and …
Climate tech investment is booming. Since 2013, there have been more than 6,000 investors (private, public and philanthropic) in climate tech startups, and …
When UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak watered down the UK’s commitment to its Net Zero targets earlier this fall, he at least started …
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished …
Sustainable development? “More of the same.” Forest carbon credits? “Outside-imposed extraction.” Impact investing? “Are we really going far enough? Or are we just …
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — In 15 years in impact investing, Christopher Bentley noticed “a lot of for-profit companies focused on the criminal justice …
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Monica Brand Engel’s advice to impact investors is this: Imperfect execution is ok. “Authentic impact is about accepting imperfection …
ImpactAlpha, Aug. 11 – Samuel Yeboah isn’t discouraged by the economic storm battering his home country of Ghana and many other emerging economies. “As …
Many investors look at promising new climate solutions and say, ‘Great, come back to me when you have traction.’ Azolla Ventures is more …
ImpactAlpha, June 30 – The first thing that Katherine Stodulka does when you meet her is suggest you meet someone else. Then she’ll …
ImpactAlpha, May 26 – A decade ago, investors pushed back against the loan products Jessica Espinoza was designing for female business owners as …
ImpactAlpha, May 12 – Nigeria-born climate entrepreneur and “professional nomad” Aina Abiodun is bullish on place-based climate innovation. “There is nothing more urgent than …
ImpactAlpha, May 5 – John Moore quit his corporate gig and moved to Philadelphia two decades ago. He found a city rich in …
ImpactAlpha, April 28 — A first generation Nigerian-American, Su Sanni grew up in East New York, Brooklyn and Jamaica, Queens. The low-income neighborhoods, …
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 21 – Attorney and academic Lourdes Germán recognized early the power of public finance. She has spent years working at firms including …
Virtual reality “for good” has been having its moment ever since several 360-degree films stirred empathy for Syrian refugees. The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC launched a $10 million impact fund to invest in virtual reality startups with storytelling projects around the Global Goals for sustainable development.
Photo credit: Dan Mason / Flickr
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