Dec 08

Love1

December 8, 2022 – Newsletter – What is COP27?

By Aaron Yeo Future of Finance, Green Investing No Comments

In this edition of the Purposeful Finance Newsletter:

Summer Internships: Impact Investing, ESG, and Sustainable Finance
Topic Breakdown: COP27
World: Tour De Headlines
Market Updates: Deal Flow

Internships

Atento Capital is looking for a 2023 Summer Intern

Kiva is looking for a Climate Smart Finance Intern and an Impact Intern

Opportunity Finance Network is looking for an Impacting Investing Intern

CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) is looking for a 2023 Summer Intern – ESG Investment

Thomson Reuters is looking for an ESG/Sustainability Intern for their global Social Impact Institute Team

Greystar Real Estate Partners is looking for a Sustainability Intern

UNICEF is looking for a Finance Intern for their Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Fund

Topic Breakdown: COP27

What is COP27? Is it the same as the UN Climate Change Convention or Conference?

Yes, they are all the same. COP27 stands for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Conference is an annual meeting where countries negotiate global goals for tackling climate change and present their individual countries’ plans and progress for contributing to those goals.
COP essentially refers to the supreme decision-making body of the Convention (think the Board of a company). COP is represented by all States that are Parties to the Convention, and the COP can adopt legal instruments to implement the climate goals set.

I’ve heard of the Paris Climate Agreement and Kyoto Protocol, are they related?

The landmark Paris Climate Agreement was actually adopted in COP21. It was the first legally binding global treaty on climate change, committing 196 parties to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The other famous Kyoto Protocol was adopted in COP3; it operationalized the UNFCCC by committing industrialized countries to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets.

So what is this year’s theme?

Follow through! Last year’s meeting (named COP26, in case you couldn’t guess) produced the Glasgow Pact and some ambitious new goals. Now countries will plan out how to accomplish the goals. The major questions are who will pay and how will they pay for climate actions, which is is where finance comes in.

So who will pay? And what is ‘Loss and Damage’ or ‘Climate Reparations’?

Climate-driven disasters are disproportionately harming low- and middle-income countries that have contributed far fewer of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
The UN has proposed that wealthier countries should pay “loss and damage” funds to compensate developing countries. Developed countries promised at COP21 to provide developing countries with $100 billion (€90 billion) a year for climate mitigation and adaptation by 2020 – a target they are unlikely to reach until 2023 at the earliest.
Before COP27, only Denmark had formally committed any funds. United States President Joe Biden has pledged 11 billion dollars in international climate aid, which may inspire other countries to join in, making for one of the largest investments in aid flowing from developed to developing markets.

What were the key wins this year other than the US rejoining COP after a 4 year hiatus?

A breakthrough agreement known as Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan has highlighted that a global transformation to a low-carbon economy will require investments of at least USD 4-6 trillion a year. Delivering such funding will require a swift and comprehensive transformation of the financial system.
COP27 saw the launch of a new five-year work program at COP27 to promote climate technology solutions in developing countries.
Countries launched a package of 25 new collaborative actions in five key areas: power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.

World: Tour De Headlines

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board concluded its 34th meeting.
- This year, they approved nine new climate projects worth USD 544.1 million in GCF funding and USD 1.7 billion with co-financing.
- GCF’s portfolio now comprises 209 projects worth USD 42.4 billion with co-financing. (GCF)
World Bank Group Announces International Low-Carbon Hydrogen Partnership, a new global initiative to boost the deployment of low-carbon hydrogen in developing countries. (World Bank)
The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) will consider a $2 billion support fund for Ukraine that will focus on rebuilding the country’s private sector. (Reuters)

United States of America

California Boosts Electric Car Charging Investment by $1 Billion.(ESGNews)

Europe

EIB (European Investment Bank) Approves EUR 11 Billion for Climate Action, Clean Energy and Sustainable Transport Investment (ESGNews)
EIB and Development Bank of Southern Africa Launch €400 Million South Africa Renewable Energy Investment Initiative (ESGNews)
France, Spain Latest to Pledge Halt to Gasoline-Driven Vehicle Sales (ESGNews)
Vitol to Acquire Vortex and Deploy $1 Billion to the Development of Renewables in Poland (ESGNews)

Asia

U.S. Unveils Investments in Indonesia Led by $698 Million Climate-Conscious Compact (ESGNews)
Australia Proposes to Require Cleaner Gasoline by 2025 (ESGNews)
Indonesia to Set Up $2 Billion EV Fund with China’s CATL, CMB International (ESGNews)
India Publishes Long Term Emissions Strategy to Reach Net Zero in 2070 (ESGNews)

Market Updates: Deal Flow

Launches

Closed Loop launches a new recycling company, Circular Services, with $700M investment, which it says will be the largest privately owned recycling company in North America. Circular Services will be a consolidation of 12 facilities from portfolio companies across seven states. The U.S. recycling industry hasn’t seen a large company focused on residential and commercial recycling, without also owning landfill assets, and Circular Services will be the first to do that. (Wastedive)
RBC Expands Sustainable Finance Product Suite for Businesses (ESGNews)
World Bank Group Announces International Low-Carbon Hydrogen Partnership (ESGNews)
Hunter Point Capital and ADQ agreed to buy a minority stake in social change-focused investment firm Vistria Group (BBG)

Funds Raised

Carlyle Launches Renewable Energy Development Platform Telis Energy in Europe. with a focus on solar, in the UK, France, Spain, and Germany, with a view to expand to other markets in Europe. (PV-Tech)
Stripe, the payments giant, announced a $925M fund for advanced market commitments for carbon removals from DAC & other high tech carbon removal and storage companies. That’s way more money than has been spent on carbon removals previously. The entire carbon offset market, of which removals are a small subset, crossed the $1B mark just late last year. (KEEP COOL)

Sustainability VC

Anode Labs , raised a $4.2M round led by Lerer Hippeau and Lattice. They aim to build The React Network: The First Community-Owned, Web3 Green Energy Grid that offers tokenized incentives for individuals and SMBs to connect their energy storage assets. (BW)
RoadRunner, a startup providing sustainable waste management solutions, raised a $20M Series D extension led by Fifth Wall. Nearly 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from the real estate sector, RoadRunner has been able to seamlessly increase a property’s recycling rates by 10x, and in turn, reduce the associated carbon footprint. (PRN)

Govtech

Beam, a startup helping citizens access government financial aid, raised a $6.4M Series A led by Potencia Ventures. Beam simplifies program administration and helps deliver funds more efficiently across a wide array of programs, like emergency cash assistance, rental relief and public utility benefits. (TC)

Healthcare VC

Maven, a pioneering the next generation of care for women and families, raised a $90M Series E at a $1.35B valuation led by General Catalyst. (TC)
Carlyle is in talks to offer to buy US urgent care group Heritage Care Network at an $8-$10B valuation. (RT)
- “Consolidation in the primary and urgent care sector…is on the rise, as healthcare operators race to provide alternatives of scale to hospital systems and capitalize on the backlog in treatments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Affordable Housing

CVS Health Invests $14.3 Million in Affordable Housing in Seattle. An interesting investment that shows us how preventive health and social equity intersect.
- “When people have access to high-quality affordable housing, it allows them to focus on taking care of their mental and physical health,” said Dr. Rafael Gonzalez-Amezcua, chief medical officer of Aetna Better Health of California at Aetna, a CVS Health Company. (ESGNews)
The California Housing Accelerator program and Community Development Banking at JPMorgan Chase are working together to fund 57 projects to accelerate the construction of affordable housing in California to combat the housing crisis.

Aug 12

Love2

An Interview with Joe Martinetto, the COO of Charles Schwab

By Scholars of Finance Compassion, Financial Leadership, Future of Finance, Integrity, Purpose of Finance No Comments

In last week’s episode of the Investing In Integrity podcast, our CEO Ross Overline sat down with Joe Martinetto, the COO of Charles Schwab. They unpacked the broader economic system with an emphasis on financial technology including DeFi, cryptocurrency, and Joe’s leadership of the acquisition of TD Ameritrade.

It’s an insightful episode with a humble, servant leader that has found himself in the C-Suite at one of the largest financial institutions in the world.

To aid in the digestion of Joe Martinetto’s lessons…, we decided to lay out an overview of some of the key points discussed throughout the episode.

Where Young Professionals Should Focus Their Time to Maximize their Potential:

Early in the episode, around the six-minute-mark, Joe starts to discuss the areas that young professionals should focus on to maximize their potential.

In short, he says if you want to go into finance you need to pair up your soft skills and passion for finance with some hard data skills – especially computer science. Understanding how data is created, stored, manipulated, and analyzed will put you a step ahead of your peers and prepare you for a successful career in finance.

How to be a Good Team Leader and Strong Team Player:

This advice from Joe comes near the 11 minute mark in the episode… This one’s pretty simple.

If you want to do well in these areas, do two things:

Treat people with respect
1. This one likely doesn’t need too much explanation
Learn to listen in the right way and be open to being influenced
1. The goal here is to achieve the best outcome – not to win the argument. In finance, we’re working with some of the sharpest individuals in the world and sure enough they have some really good ideas. Listening in a way that allows you to be influenced is incredibly important as it enables the “best outcome” to be found.

Aside from this, another important thing to consider as a leader is how you grow your followership within your company. Joe’s personal leadership style is servant leadership – this is our preferred leadership style too btw :). That said, there are pros and cons to all leadership styles whether they be hierarchical or “flatter” through servant leadership. The key takeaway here is that this should be an intentional choice.

How to Minimize Risk:

This learning comes near the 30 minute mark in the episode.

Obviously he can’t share his input on one individual asset’s risk profile, but in general here are his thoughts:

Don’t buy something that you don’t understand and you can’t place a value on
From an organizational level, ensure there isn’t a single person who could cause serious damage to the firm from a financial perspective
Become extremely educated on the instruments you’re purchasing and the risk exposures you’re taking

Crypto’s future in the financial sphere:

This section came near the 40 minute mark…

The short answer:

Time will tell.

The long answer:

There’s likely room for it in the market and it’ll force financial firms to offer better service at lower prices to clients. Crypto may just be another lever that firms can pull down the road that will allow them to continue to increase their scale and further democratize investing.

Jul 27

Love4

Finding Purpose in Finance

By Drake Goodman Future of Finance, Integrity, Principles, Purpose of Finance No Comments

Defining finance is akin to defining nature itself: its functions and complexities are so broad in influence that it almost becomes too difficult to assign a straightforward definition. With businesses and people across the world threatened by the new coronavirus delta variant, companies going public at record rates, and new innovative solutions in every industry, the need for financial solutions has never been more apparent. As we see these recent developments and dynamic future trends, we must return to the basics and ask ourselves, what is the purpose of finance?

It can be easy to view the discipline as a means of financiers shifting around capital. Another view is that finance allows companies and individuals to progress in their endeavors, fueling the idea that finance “makes the world go round.” On a fundamental level, finance is the process of managing and raising money, but there is so much more to it.

Why Do We Need to Understand Finance’s Purpose?

As with our personal ambitions or in traditional altruistic lines of work, purpose drives action. But it is deeper than that. As Mission co-founder Bård Annweiler astutely states in Point of Purpose, purpose is the core of everything. Purpose gives us reason to work toward a cause and stay motivated. It allows us to create our identity, set goals, and communicate effectively. Purpose is our meaning in life.

The same can be applied to finance, and some would even argue that it is more important in finance considering the sheer impact it has on businesses, industries, and most importantly, people. By understanding the purpose of finance, we can truly maximize our role in the industry and orient its functionality to optimize for success. We can innovate beyond the imaginable, achieving feats at a scale never seen before. That said, when we lose purpose, we lose direction, which has dramatic ramifications when matters pertain to finance.

So, What is the Purpose of Finance?

In a broad sense, the purpose of finance is to be a means to provide and scale solutions. It allows businesses to grow, employ new workers, and build communities. It ensures that entire institutions remain intact and avoid devastating collapse. In this sense, finance is the mechanism which steers the direction of society at large. When viewing finance and its purpose, we must look past the idea that finance is solely about capital; rather, it is about how capital will impact people.

This is why ethics and morals are essential when applied to finance. With so much influence on the direction of society, it is in our hands to determine where society heads. In other words, it is clear that finance stewards capital which allow companies to grow, but how companies grow and which companies grow are determined by individuals’ decisions. This includes which industries we invest in and how well-run the companies we finance are. Additionally, with so many incentives linked to short-term gratification, it is easy to sometimes sacrifice our integrity or judgment when making decisions. This is why having values influence or even guide our decision making is of the utmost importance: when we are grounded in our morals and a general desire to make a positive impact, then not only will we benefit others, but we will benefit personally as well. The data supports this line of reasoning too. According to the McKinsey report “Profits with purpose: How organizing for sustainability can benefit the bottom line” by Sheila Bonini and Steven Swartz, “an investment of $1 at the beginning of 1993 in a value-weighted portfolio of high-sustainability companies would have grown to $22.60 by the end of 2010, compared with $15.40 for the portfolio of low-sustainability companies. The high-sustainability companies also did better with respect to return on assets (34 percent) and return on equity (16 percent).” Logically, this makes sense. By investing in our future and steering society in a beneficial direction, we are driving innovation as well as positioning ourselves for long-term success.

When we either forget the monumental consequences of our actions and finances, or when we have a poor use of judgment while stewarding capital, we have the potential to hurt millions of people. A classic example is the 2008 Financial Crisis: with a misalignment of incentives and a series of internal seemingly harmless manipulations in banks, employees were motivated by short-sighted decision-making. While the financial services industry was by no means the sole contributor to this financial and housing bubble collapse, even with significant governmental intervention, unemployment still rose to 10 percent and about 3.8 million Americans lost their homes due to foreclosure. In this sense, we lost sight of the purpose of finance. We lost sight of how we could harness our work to benefit the greater good. We lost sight of the impact our work has on society as a whole.

At a technical level, finance’s purpose is clear: to manage, raise, and invest capital; however, on a human level, which is arguably far more important, it is up to us to define its purpose. It is easy to become complacent in our understanding of finance’s purpose by viewing it solely from a technical perspective; doing so makes the job easier and more straightforward. Once we add purpose to the equation, however, each action we take has more weight, but we can also help others and ourselves more with this external understanding. With ethics and morals ingrained in our decision making, the purpose of finance soon becomes to steward capital for the greater good.

Going Forward

So, by understanding the purpose of finance and how consequential our actions are within this broad space, what can we do moving forward? On a macro level, institutions and governments can invest in solutions that are sustainable and benefit communities.

On an individual level, there are steps we can take to maximize finance’s purpose:

If you do not work in the financial services industry, seek to understand how finance impacts your life – you will find it is much more involved than expected. With this understanding, you will not only be better informed, but you can advocate for certain causes with attainable approaches.
If you have a junior level position in the financial services industry, continue to have your purpose drive your work. Again, when we lose sight of the impact of our work or why each of our job functions matter, we become complacent and begin to view our actions as solely transactional. Instead, keep your work people-oriented, and remind yourself of your mission every day.
If you are a finance leader, realize the importance and impact your work has on others. You have the potential to contribute to shaping the course of history, either for better or for worse. Never underestimate how your actions and decisions influence others, ranging from those working alongside you to the millions of stakeholders you are responsible for.

By taking these actions, we will become one step closer to having finance work for everyone–and while the entire global population may not understand finance’s purpose to this degree overnight, we will make incremental success toward this end goal. After all, when it comes to societal awareness in the lens of finance, we are not in a sprint but instead a marathon.

Future of Finance