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Meet The Silicon Valley Alumni Trying To Change The Way We Invest

In 1999, Silicon Valley power couple Charly and Lisa Kleissner graduated from the tech IPO boom with a pile of cash and the desire to do some good.The couple would eventually find their way into impact investing, a buzzy new realm of investing that seeks a double bottom line of financial as well as social and environmental returns. It didn’t happen right away, though.

Boost for impact investors as new system unveiled for measuring social impact

Impact investors will now be able to measure the social and environmental good achieved through their investments, thanks to a new framework developed by charity consultants NPC, working with US philanthropists Charly and Lisa Kleissner.

Put Foundation Endowments to Work for ‘Total Impact’

We believe that capital markets can and should help solve the world’s pressing environmental and social issues, while at the same time delivering market-based financial performance.

Good & Green

In 2009, OpenPath Investments launched a pilot program aimed at strengthening the social safety net for the low- and middle-income residents while incorporating sustainable practices into their lives. The “UrbanVillage” program, as it is now known, encourages residents to network and take an active role in their communities.

It May be Best to Avoid a Sustainable Finance MBA, for Now

A recent Bloomberg report indicates that companies looking to hire people with a niche-focused advanced degree, such as an MBA in Sustainable Finance, are few and far between. Even investment firms with a focus in the sustainable industry sector are pursuing those with a more general degree from graduate school. Though the idea of sustainable operations is trending in many industries right now, studying it specifically may not be the best idea in today's job market.

12 Things You Need To Know About Fundraising For Your Social Enterprise

Last month Acumen joined forces with global business software leader SAP to offer a two-week leadership development program in Silicon Valley for CEOs from nine Acumen-backed companies. This fellowship included a closed-door session hosted at First Round Capital, a seed-stage venture firm that is a giant in Silicon Valley, having been among the first to invest in the likes of Uber, Taskrabbit and Blue Apron.

Local Investing is Impact Investing

Every October, Amy made the trek to San Francisco for SoCap, an international conference on impact investing. The topics were, will this work? Is it possible? What will happen if we do this? We had no track record, yet many committed time and money to test the ideas, and, as always, time did tell. A compelling report from 2013 reveals what we all felt would be true – investing with your mind and heart would yield better returns.

Who’s the Next Impact Target After Goldman Sachs Snaps Up Imprint Capital?

Goldman's decision to buy, rather than build, its impact investing capacity for high-net-worth and institutional clients may prod other wealth-management giants to accelerate their own impact efforts through acquisitions. Some kind of impact investment proposition has become de rigueur for big banks and financial services providers, but a gap has remained between talk and action.

Do Impact Investors Have to Sacrifice Financial Returns for Social Impact?

One of the questions we are often asked is whether investors need to sacrifice returns for impact. Even more often, we observe that investors implicitly assume that a trade-off between impact and financial return is required without engaging in the conversation.

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