The ways in which wealth inequality happens that no one is talking about
Ep 29 of the podcast is a special Clubhouse edition!
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All,
Here’s what’s included in this edition of the newsletter:
The launch of episode 29
New thought leadership content published
What I’m reading/listening to
What’s on tap
Episode 29 is live!
Episode 29 is a special episode. This is a recording of a live conversation we held on Clubhouse about wealth inequality. Both Jon and Delilah are working on tackling wealth inequality in different ways and I wanted to have them together because I thought we could have a really fruitful discussion on this important topic that’s really close to my heart.
And I’m SO GLAD I did!
The conversation turned out to be the best version I hoped it could be. It starts with 20-30 mins of conversation where Jon and Delilah introduce themselves and then we dive into discussing the ways in which wealth inequality is happening that no one is talking about.
It’s a long conversation, so if you don’t have time to listen to the whole thing, listen to the first 60-90 mins, it’s pure gold!
💡 Thought Leadership
I’ve added two new publications to the Thought Leadership Library on my website:
ESG 2.0: Measuring & Managing Investor Risks Beyond the Enterprise-level (Delilah Rothenberg, Raphaele Chappe, and Amanda Feldman)
I haven’t had a chance to read this yet but my guest from Episode 27, Delilah Rothenburg from The Predistribution Initiative, along with colleagues, published a paper all about how to build better capital structures (right now all the ESG focus is on the portfolio companies rather than the investment structures/managers who invest in them). They argue that asset managers and allocators are often inadvertently creating barriers for diverse fund managers and entrepreneurs, jeopardizing quality jobs, eroding affordability, and fuelling economic inequality and market instability. Their paper encourages investors to consider how their activities may be negatively impacting equality and they propose some paths toward solutions. These paths are just preliminary proposals that they hope to workshop and fine tune with investors and other stakeholders. If you’re interested in their work, connect with The Predistribution Initiative.
Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Investing That Matters (Jon Lukomnik & James P. Hawley)
I attended a presentation recently where Jon and James discussed their new book where they argue that Modern Portfolio Theory or MPT (which is a fundamental framework that underpins much of our current investment theory) is broken, or rather, was never completely cogent in the first place. They argue that while aspects of it are useful it is becoming increasingly clear that it is divorced from reality. The authors propose a new framework to adjust our thinking so that we can marry the useful aspects of MPT (diversification and risk-adjusted returns) in the context of the real economy and a focus on total returns (which includes social and environmental returns). I’m toying with the idea of reaching out to the authors to either have a podcast episode or maybe even arrange a discussion on Clubhouse on this topic. Or maybe both.
📰What I’m reading/listening to
These cheese alternatives aren’t plant-based—they’re microbe-based (Fast Company)
Over the past five years, I’ve really been trying to be a lot more of a conscious consumer and eater. I’ve drastically cut my meat and dairy consumption (thanks Beyond Meat and Oatly!). But I just can’t get into plant-based cheeses. I’ve tried.
So I’m excited to try this new dairy alternative. It makes use of post-biotics to make a much more natural-looking/tasting cheese than the existing plant-based alternatives. The company that invented it is starting by making cream cheese, mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
📆What’s on tap?
Here’s what is coming up on The Impact Investing Podcast:
🎙 Upcoming Podcast Episodes
Joy Anderson of the Criterion Institute joins me to discuss gender lens investing. Joy is one of the true OG’s in this space and I love her no-nonsense approach.
Andrew Parry, Head of Sustainable Investing at Newton Investment Management, joins me to discuss the practical challenges and opportunities in ESG and impact investing at an institutional level.
Garth Davis and Andy Broderick, Managing Partners at New Market Funds, join me to discuss their work in financing affordable housing.
Art activist Benjamin Von Wong joins me to discuss the power of art in driving impact at scale. Ben does incredible art installations that are at once beautiful and frightening! Click on his name, it links to his site where you can see his work.
Keith Ippel of Spring Activator joins me to discuss the work the organization does to support not only social enterprise startups and entrepreneurs but also training cohorts of impact investors.
Elizabeth Freele of Sympact (a think-tank and hands-on consultancy) joins me to discuss the opportunities for impact in the mining industry. This is an industry that many impact investors tend to opt out of entirely. But as Liz points out, the world can’t do without mining in the foreseeable future, so we need to engage these firms and direct capital to finding ways to mine more sustainably.
👋Upcoming Clubhouse Conversations
A series of conversations on financial feminism (Dates: TBD)
Impact investing opportunities in the mining sector with upcoming podcast guest Elizabeth Freele of Sympact. (Date: TBD)
A discussion with Joy Anderson of the Criterion Institute’s new paper, Disrupting Fields: Addressing Power Dynamics in the Fields of Climate Finance and Gender Lens Investing (Date: TBD)
See more by visiting www.kindwealth.club