Month: April 2014

Businesses identify sustainability as key growth driver, survey finds

Posted on by MBC Strategic

More than two thirds of business executives are associating sustainability with their company’s financial performance, according to a new survey. Sustainability performance reporting is also rising up business agendas, the survey finds, with most firms allocating resources to enable more comprehensive and accurate analysis. The most commonly reported sustainability data will be carbon emissions (99%), energy (98%), and social responsibility (93%). A large majority will report on waste (77%), water (77%) and other greenhouse emissions (77%).

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5 Alternative Asset Classes to Consider

Posted on by MBC Strategic

Fox Business presents 5 alternative asset classes, that according to the article “could give your investing an edge.” The article goes on to list Impact Investing as a viable option for those who are trying to save the world and also have some money to invest. It then expands on the options for non-accredited investors.

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More Companies Bow to Investors With a Social Cause

Posted on by MBC Strategic

Shareholders are driving changes in corporate policies and disclosures unthinkable a decade ago, on issues ranging from protecting rain forests to human rights. So far this year, environmental and social issues have accounted for 56% of shareholder proposals, representing a majority for the first time, according to accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. That is up from about 40% in the previous two years, and means shareholders are increasingly voting on things like greenhouse-gas emissions, political spending and labor rights. 53% of companies in the S&P 500 index now publish sustainability reports, according to the Governance and Accountability Institute, addressing such matters as their energy efficiency and labor standards.

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TriLinc Global Supports High Water Women’s Initiative to Empower Women through Impact Investing

Posted on by MBC Strategic

On April 7th, Joan Trant, TriLinc Global Director of Marketing & Impact, joined a group of senior women from the hedge fund and impact investing industries to assess the impact investing landscape and determine how High Water Women, a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the social and economic empowerment of women and youth, can increase women’s awareness and participation in impact investing. Women hold a significant amount of wealth globally, and according to Kristan Wojner and Chuck Meek in Women’s Views of Wealth and the Planning Process: It’s Values That Matter, Not Just Value, women are estimated to inherit 70% of the $41 trillion in intergenerational wealth transfer expected over the next 40 years.

Following on its highly acclaimed Investing for Impact Symposium held October 3, 2013, High Water Women is building a strategic process and tools to support women seeking to invest in the impact space. “In addition to speaking at the Symposium, TriLinc Global is delighted to be part of this visionary and dynamic group convened by High Water Women,” said Ms. Trant. “TriLinc Global helps investors recognize the power they have through their investment decisions. Collaborating with High Water Women is an exciting opportunity to support women investors aiming to prove that investments with socioeconomic and environmental benefits also have the potential to achieve competitive returns for their portfolios.”

TriLinc Global CEO Judges for Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investment Challenge

Posted on by MBC Strategic

On April 4th, TriLinc Global CEO Gloria Nelund had the honor of judging the business plans of five exceptional MBA student-teams from various universities around the world at the Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investment Challenge in the firm’s global headquarters in Manhattan. A total of 75 business school teams entered the competition, which filtered down to 10 teams pitching their sustainable finance proposals on Friday morning. The presentations were split between two groups of judges, who after first-round selections together selected the top four teams to present in the finals.

Proposals ranged from financing for solar irrigation projects in India to a fund for LED street-lighting in the United States. The grand prize of $10,000 was awarded to the four-student team from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, who proposed an investment vehicle to remediate brownfields using popular trees.