ImpactAlpha Open: Freedom to invest + HBO does impact investing

August 20, 2024

Greetings Agents of Impact!

Welcome to the latest ImpactAlpha Open, our free weekly newsletter that keeps you in the know and ahead of the curve in impact investing and sustainable finance.

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In this week’s Open:

• Investors fight for ‘freedom to invest’
• HBO does impact investing
• Crypto as an onramp to opportunity
• The Celtic’s Jaylen Brown puts superstar power behind inclusive wealth

Ok, let’s jump in. – Dennis Price

Must-reads on ImpactAlpha

• Investors fight for 'freedom to invest’. The effects of this summer’s Supreme Court decisions gutting the “administrative state” are playing out in legal challenges to rules on climate action, labor rights and corporate accountability. Investors are gearing up to fight back. “These attacks are reducing your freedom as investors,” says Adasina Social Capital ’s Rachel J. Robasciotti , a founder of Freedom Economy, a trade association with legal resources for investors standing up not only for their rights, but their obligations to clients and beneficiaries. Robasciotti joined Better Markets ’ Dennis Kelleher , B Lab ’s Jorge Fontanez and The Shareholder Commons ’ Rick Alexander , Fran Seegull of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and ImpactAlpha’s David Bank to discuss the new legal landscape on last week’s Agents of Impact Call. Read/watch the Call recap .?
• Putting your metrics where your mouth is. BlueMark ’s fourth Making the Mark report rounds up findings from impact verifications of 111 fund managers representing $234 billion in impact assets under management. Some impact investors are moving to hold themselves accountable by setting impact targets, BlueMark’s Tristan Hackett explains in a Q&A. Hear him out .
• HBO takes on impact investing. Impact investing is having a moment in the Hollywood sun or, rather, shade. In the new season of HBO ’s hit show, "Industry," sustainable investing, impact, and ESG are being treated with deep skepticism, reports ImpactAlpha’s Isaac Silk . “It’s like utopian opiate for morons who believe in a better world, whatever that means,” says a financial career-climbing character on the show (hear Isaac and some clips on this week’s podcast ). Check it out .

• Crypto as an onramp to opportunity. A rising cohort of diverse founders are turning crypto from speculative gamble to inclusive opportunity through distributed autonomous investment organizations, digital token raises and other blockchain-based tools that together make up Web3, I report. See how .
• Mapping market of tech startups in climate resiliency. SJF Ventures ’ Josef (Joey) Barrick takes on the continuing underinvestment in climate adaptation and resilience by mapping the market of tech startups in fire tech, insurance tech, water tech, analytics and infrastructure. Find the way .
• Bringing impact to main street. ImpactAlpha’s Lynnley Browning reports on what could be the next big wave of impact capital: the trillions in bank deposits held by non-accredited investors who remain locked out of most impact investments. Read more .

Agents of Impact

?? Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics: Putting superstar power behind inclusive wealth

The finals MVP of the National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Boston Celtics, Jaylen Brown, has long been vocal about racial injustice. When he signed his five-year, $304 million contract extension with the Celtics last year – at the time, the NBA’s largest supermax deal ever – he vowed to turn his wealth and influence toward bridging racial wealth gaps. “I want to launch a project to bring Black Wall Street here to Boston,” Brown told reporters, and “attack the wealth disparity here.” Last week, the 27-year-old guard and forward launched The XChange in Oakland, Calif., with Hall of Famer Jason Kidd, head coach of the Dallas Mavericks . Kidd is from Oakland; Brown calls the California city his “second home” from his time at UC Berkeley. They are recruiting other professional athletes, philanthropists and other business leaders to realize their ambition: to help bridge the US racial wealth gap by generating $5 billion in net wealth for historically marginalized communities.?

• Keep reading, “Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics: Putting superstar power behind inclusive wealth ,” by Roodgally Senatus on ImpactAlpha.

The Week's Podcast

?? This Week in Impact

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank, who tees up some choice quotes from last week’s Agents of Impact Call on the new legal landscape for impact investors. Then, why some impact investors are still dragging their feet when it comes to setting targets for their impact and holding themselves accountable. Bonus: Producer Isaac Silk joins the conversation to recap the new impact investing storyline on HBO’s show "Industry," and tee up the question of whether the season will cast impact as greenwashing, fad… or fraud.

• Listen to the new episode of This Week in Impact . Get the podcast in your feed by subscribing on Apple or Spotify .

??? Capitol Gains

Navigating the dynamics between state and local governments. The Brookings Institution senior fellow Amy Liu joins Matt Posner and James McIntyre to discuss preemption, navigating state politics, the rural and urban divide, and more on Capitol Gains, part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network.

• Read the recap and listen to the podcast from Posner and McIntyre.

Curated by Dennis Price and Isaac Silk at ImpactAlpha

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