ImpactAlpha Podcasts

A few years ago the Prudential Foundation committed to reaching a billion dollar impact portfolio by 2020, and they're well on their way to reaching that goal. On this episode of ROI, David Bank sits down with Lata Reddy, the Senior Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion & Impact at Prudential Financial and Chair and President of The Prudential Foundation to discuss the impact fund, their place ba...

If impact investors are worth their salt, they’ll soon –– if not soon enough –– come up with a whole raft of investible solutions to the crushing burden of opioid addiction. The problem may have snuck up over the past decade, but there’s no escaping the costs of the crisis now. As many as 23 million addicts in the U.S. More than 64,000 overdose deaths, most of them opioid-related. The annual econo...

Corporate venture capital is a thing. And that thing is converging on impact investing. The amount that global corporations put into strategic investments in startup companies last year reached $31 billion across 1800 deals, both all-time records. Today on the podcast David Bank, Imogen Rose-Smith and Brian Walsh discuss Corporate Venture Capital and Impact.

The billionaires with their family offices command on outsized share of attention from impact fund managers. But, the real dollars, as in trillions, are in the huge pension and sovereign wealth funds around the world. Today on ROI, David Bank speaks with Dave Chen, the head of Equilibrium Capital, about the burgeoning shift towards sustainability and EGS within the world of institutional investors...

A raft of new social-impact and environmental financing vehicle are emerging from labs, incubators and startup funds. By finding inventive ways to monetize social inclusion and environmental regeneration, the new models are "internalizing the positive externalities." Too wonky? Just say "impact alpha." Returns on Investment's resident blue-sky optimist, David Bank, lays bets that the best new idea...

It has been said that "for impact investing, every day is international women's day." As the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements continue to demonstrate their staying power, is it time that impact and finance at large take a closer look at gender equality within firms as well as in their investments? Brian Walsh, Imogen Rose-Smith and David Bank discuss in the latest ROI.

The whole panel is together in Oakland to discuss whether or not California is charting the way forward for the inclusive economy of the future. The golden state does seem to be ahead on issues such as immigration, climate change, and shared prosperity - but is there a flip side to the coin? Listen in as Imogen Rose Smith, David Bank, and Brian Walsh discuss The California Model.

At a recent hosted at the New York offices of the fintech company Liquidnet, in collaboration with the Tristate Area Africa Funders Network, ImpactAlpha’s own David Bank moderated a panel on “Demystifying Impact Investing” featuring Georgia Levenson Keohane of the Pershing Square Foundation, Liz Luckett of TSEF and Brian Trelstad of Bridges Fund Management..

Larry Fink, the CEO of the world largest asset manager, pushed "social purpose" higher on the corporate agenda with his annual letter, warning that every company "must show how it makes a positive contribution to society.” Social activists cheered; activist investors more accustomed to pressuring CEOs for stock buybacks and dividends, groaned. As onetime corporate raider Sam Zell put it, “I didn’t...

Natural spaces have long provided financial value to humans, though historically this has been through the process of extracting resources. Now, as scientists better understand the key role that ecosystems play in supporting life on earth, some banks and investors are looking to incentivize the preservation of wild spaces and species. Today on ROI, the panel discusses conservation finance.

Steve Case tells The New York Times that his $150 million Rise of the Rest Fund is "not an impact fund." Our Returns on Investment roundtable takes on the contretemps that played out on the pages of ImpactAlpha. Good jobs, overlooked geographies, bottom-up innovation – that sounds like impact. Do funds have to measure (and report)? Who decides? Imogen Rose-Smith, David Bank and Brian Walsh take Ri...

In 2007 the term Impact Investing was coined at a Rockefeller Foundation convening in Bellagio. The "framers" put the name to a burgeoning yet broad set of investment strategies being practiced on the margins of traditional finance. On this episode of ROI the panel discusses how the impact community has grown and changed in the past ten years, and where it's headed.

Imogen Rose-Smith plays cautious realist to David Bank's blue-sky futurist in this heated (but always friendly!) Returns on Investment roundtable. At issue is the role of the world’s biggest asset owners – so-called Universal Owners – in the rotation of capital toward sustainability and inclusion.

As Congress debates tax reform, agents of impact have a chance to 'code' a new tax algorithm.

David Bank chats with Amit Bouri, the founder of the GIIN, about the past ten years of impact investing - and looks forward to the next ten.

On this episode of ROI, David Bank chats with technologist and entrepreneur Tim O'Reilly about his new book WTF: What's the Future, and Why It's Up to Us.

On this episode of ROI, David Bank chats with Morgan Simon of the Candide Group about her new book "Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change."

Climate change is increasing the size, frequency, and cost of natural disasters. In the past several months alone we've seen the devastating affects of hurricanes, droughts, and monsoons. On today’s show, our panel talks impact investing and climate resilience.

Liesel Pritzker-Simmons and Ian Simmons join David Bank for this special episode of ROI, brought to you in partnership with The ImPact, to discuss their 100% for impact fund Blue Haven Initiative.

Ross Baird, President of Village Capital, chats with David Bank about his new book "The Innovation Blindspot," why many VC firms are missing out on great investment opportunities, and more.

On this special episode of Returns on Investment, David speaks with Kyungsun Chung, the Founder and CEO of Root Impact, a nonprofit that focuses on building capacity for the social innovation sector in Korea.

On this special episode of ROI, we're featuring an interview with Fernando Scodro, a founding member of The ImPact's Brazil chapter.

On this special edition of Returns on Investment, we're featuring a panel discussion from The Liquidnet for Good 10 Year Anniversary Forum. The conversation focuses on the future of business as a force for good, and is moderated by Daryl Brewster, the CEO of CECP It features insights from Cammie Erickson, a Senior Manager with Linkedin For Good, Jen Field, the Social Impact Director for GLG, and A...

Uber is reeling due to a series of damning reports about it's corporate culture of misogyny. One potential solution that makes impact investors ears perk up: diversify the board. But, a new study from Katherine Klein of the Wharton School suggests that "the relationship between board gender diversity and company performance is either non-exist (effectively zero) or weakly positive." How do the fin...

On this special edition of Returns on Investment, we're featuring a panel discussion from The Liquidnet for Good 10 Year Anniversary Forum. The conversation focuses on the future of impact investing, and is moderated. by Georgia Keohane, the Executive Director of the Pershing Square Foundation. It features insights from Liz Luckett, the president of TSEF, Brian Trelsted, a partner at Bridges Fund...