Articles by James Militzer
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Monday
April 24
2017Dear Diary: New Financial Diaries Research Explains Why Many Americans are So Angry
Would you rather have more money or a more stable financial life? A striking 92% of Americans in a recent survey chose stability - a sign of the deep undercurrent of financial insecurity running through the world's richest country. A new book called "The Financial Diaries, How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty" explores this insecurity in remarkable detail. Its co-author, Rachel Schneider of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, discusses the research and its far-reaching implications in NextBillion's latest podcast.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Interviews
Wednesday
April 19
2017‘Wall Street Meets Impact’: SOCAP’s Owners – New and Old – Discuss its Move Toward the Mainstream
Last month, SOCAP made headlines with a bold announcement: The network of social impact-focused investors and entrepreneurs is moving to new ownership to "begin expanding its brand reach to larger, more mainstream audiences." As its first initiative, this new-look SOCAP is launching the Good Capital Project, which aims to "drive greater collaboration and accelerate capital flows into purpose driven investments." We discussed these developments with SOCAP's co-founder, Kevin Jones, and John Morris of V2V Associates, who helped pull the new ownership deal together.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- impact investing
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Monday
April 17
2017Embrace Your Liberalism, Impact Investing: A Q&A with a ‘Biblically Responsible Investor’
Inspire Investing, a leader in the “Biblically Responsible Investing” movement, recently launched two funds targeted at conservative Christians. The funds, which screen out companies that participate in abortion, gambling, alcohol, pornography or “the LGBT lifestyle,” attracted $42 million in assets in just the first two weeks, demonstrating a clear appetite for alternatives to the “politically liberal agenda" of most SRI funds, Inspire founder Robert Netzly says in this podcast. Should traditional SRI just accept this growing politicization and embrace its liberal roots?
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Friday
April 14
2017Ford Foundation Sends Message to Those Still on Impact Investing Fence: A Q&A with Darren Walker
Earlier this month, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker announced the 81-year-old organization is putting "our money where our mouth is" and investing $1 billion over the next 10 years in affordable housing and financial services for people in developing countries. In this email Q&A, Walker talks about why the foundation made the shift and the signals he hopes it sends.
- Categories
- Investing
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Interviews
Thursday
March 30
2017Why Fossil Fuel Companies Must Evolve or Die: An Interview with Carbon Tracker Founder Mark Campanale
To keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius and (hopefully) avoid the harshest consequences of climate change, up to three-quarters of known fossil fuels will have to stay in the ground. That's the thesis of the Carbon Tracker Initiative and its founder, Mark Campanale. If that sounds like a heavy lift for an oil-dependent world, he raises a compelling point: With collapsing margins and emerging competition from renewables, the fossil fuel industry has no choice but to evolve. Campanale elaborates on these views in this video interview.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology
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Interviews
Wednesday
March 29
2017Three Reasons Impact Investors Aren’t Sweating Trump’s Climate Policies: An Interview with Nancy Pfund
This week, President Trump signed what's been called a "sweeping demolition of Obama-era policies on coal mining, fracking, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change." So why isn't Nancy Pfund, founder and managing partner of DBL Partners, worried? We discuss politics and the environment with the impact investing pioneer in this video interview.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology
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Guest Articles
Friday
March 24
2017Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin / James Militzer
Social Business Roundup: The Problem with Sachets, the Beauty of Rats and the Dark Side of Cross-Selling
Everyone seems to love the products in individually-sized sachets being sold at the BoP ... except for Mother Nature. Ethiopia's only too happy to roll out the welcome mat for some rats with amazing TB-sniffing skills. A questionable cross-selling strategy in South Africa harms a vulnerable population and raises uncomfortable questions about financial inclusion. It's all part of our weekly Social Business Roundup.
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- Environment, Health Care, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Friday
March 17
2017James Militzer / Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin
Social Business Roundup: SOCAP Aims for the Mainstream, Cambodia Caps Microcredit, Quali Health Simplifies Health Care
In announcing its new ownership, SOCAP mentioned the word “mainstream” six times – the popular social business and investing conference is clearly aiming to grow beyond its current niche. In Cambodia, the National Bank capped interest on microcredit to a maximum of 18 percent per year – about half of what some MFIs currently charge. And a visit to India inspired a South African doctor to launch a profitable health care clinic in a local shantytown. These stories and more in our weekly roundup.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Investing