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Why China has yet to catch the wave of global responsible investing
A lack of understanding about the importance of ESG and its potential benefits is hampering its adoption among Chinese firms, according to the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment organisation.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing, SDGs
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Why Impact Investing is the Next Big Move for Grameen America
David Gough of Grameen America says philanthropy will always be at the heart of the organization's funding, but the nonprofit saw impact investing as an untapped opportunity to fight gender inequity. In celebrating its 10-year anniversary of supporting female entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in the U.S., the group established its first Social Business Fund. The impact investing vehicle is allowing Grameen America supporters to directly invest in the success of more than 100,000 entrepreneurs and receive a financial return in exchange, writes Gough.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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More investment firms are letting clients put their money where their mouth is on gender equality
A demand for tangible action to make gender equality a reality is sweeping across many industries. In finance, one of the steps in this direction has been the recent creation of gender equality exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These give investors the chance to actively invest in companies that champion equality. Last month, Swiss banking giant UBS became the latest firm to offer one of these funds.
- Categories
- Investing
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The End of a Debate? India Highlights the Dominance of For-Profit Capital in Impact Investing
Can impact investing be as commercially viable as mainstream investing – or does it work better as a nonprofit model, or as a less-profitable niche in the broader investing space? This question remains widely debated, even as more empirical evidence has demonstrated the commercial success of impact investments. Disha Gandhi of Aavishkaar asserts that the long-running global debate over for-profit vs. nonprofit models in impact investing may be winding down, and India is a key case in point.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Coming of Age: Why Consolidation in the Impact Investing Industry is a Great Thing
With over $114 billion deployed into impact investments in 2017 and the total U.S. market at well above $8 trillion, the sector has gone decisively mainstream. And when that happens, industry consolidation is not far behind. In light of a recent wave of eyebrow-raising mergers and acquisitions, Stephanie Cohn Rupp at Tiedemann Wealth Management – which recently completed a merger of its own – says this trend should spark more excitement than concern.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Abraaj Capital, LPs at odds over fund misuse, investments
According to a report in The New York Times, the PE firm has informed the LPs of its healthcare fund that the hospital operator’s pre-tax earnings have declined from $14 million to $8 million. Abraaj hasn’t marked down the value of its investment to reflect lower earnings, the report said.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Scientists develop sustainable investing framework
"Other frameworks for measuring corporate sustainability focus on how internal corporate production processes at the facility level support environmental integrity or human beneficiaries, but give limited guidance for assessing the longer-term impact of business practices," said Vörösmarty. "Our proposed framework relies on scientifically-based metrics to help investors evaluate how companies' actions, products and services support the environment and human well-being. Indeed, this is a new calculus for sustainable investing."
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- North America
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Press release: Mission Driven Finance Announces First $1M in Impact Investments
Mission Driven Finance was founded in 2016 by a seasoned team of San Diego finance and philanthropic leaders to tap into a growing trend of investors looking to drive financial returns and effect positive social change. The group’s initial “impact investments” are commercial loans that provide local community-minded borrowers access to critical capital up to $500,000 at rates that encourage success.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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