ESG and Sustainability
The rise of ESG factors in investment decision making will have a dramatic impact on returns and opportunities in the 21st century. A recent survey by LGT Capital Partners and Mercer showed that 57% of respondents believe that incorporating ESG standards into investment decisions will raise returns. Just 9% argued they reduce returns on investment.
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Revaia, Europe’s largest female-founded venture capital firm, has successfully raised €150 million ($160 million) for its second fund, Revaia Growth II. The funding was secured from sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and institutional investors across Europe, with support from existing partners like Bpifrance and new backers such as mutual insurer Carac and the European Investment Fund.
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More Stories on ESG and Sustainability
Alternative Investments/ESG: An “Anti-ESG” ETF, Backed By Thiel And Ackmann, To Gun For Fossil Investing
Strive Asset Management announced the launch of the Strive US Energy ETF (NYSE: $DRLL) which seeks to take advantage of a likely bull run in US energy stocks from an unfolding demand-supply imbalance in the global energy markets. Taking an anti-ESG stance, the ETF will mandate U.S. energy companies to reject shortsighted political agendas and to focus on long-term profitability, including through increased investment in oil and gas production.
Alternative Investments/Digital/ESG: SoFi Launches Web3 And Smart Energy ETFs
SoFi Invest, the investing and trading arm of SoFi Technologies, announced the launch of two new ETFs, SoFi Web 32 (NASDAQ: TWEB) and SoFi Smart Energy (NYSE: ENRG) that provide exposure to two of the world’s fastest-growing industries.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Chimera Capital Launches Shariah Turkish Equity ETF
The Chimera S&P Turkey Shariah ETF seeks to invest in the most liquid Shariah-complaint stocks listed on the Borsa Istanbul. Launched by Chimera Capital, an Abu-Dhabi-based investment management firm and subsidiary of Chimera Investment, the ETF tracks the performance of the S&P Turkey Shariah Liquid 35/20 Capped Index (Bloomberg: SPTSLCAP), provided by S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Venture Capital: L’ATTITUDE Ventures Raises $100M To Back Latino Startups
L’ATTITUDE Ventures closed its first institutional fund raising on Wednesday, raising over $100 million with an anchor investment from Wall Street titan JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and initial investments from Trujillo Group and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).
Alternative Investments/ESG: New ESG Gold ETF From Sprott To List August 2
Sprott Asset Management LP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sprott Inc. (NYSE: SII), today announced the launch of the Sprott ESG Gold ETF (NYSEARCA: SESG) that will begin trading on the NYSE ARCA with effect from August 2, 2022. The new ETF will invest solely in gold (“Sprott ESG Approved Gold”) that satisfies the ESG and provenance standards developed by Sprott. (Financial Post)
Artificial Intelligence: Protecting Tigers In India
India’s majestic tigers are vulnerable to poachers, injury, accidents and illness, and faced with the threat of a shrinking habitat as humans muscle into their territories. India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has been using AI for helping in the mammoth task of protecting these magnificent animals, but is now looking to take the role of the technology to a new level.
Venture Capital: Enko, Which Uses AI To Discover Crop Protection Molecules, Raises $70M
Enko announced its $70 million Series C funding round led by agrochem company Nufarm with participation by Anterra Capital, Taher Gozal, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Eight Roads Ventures, Finistere Ventures, Novalis LifeSciences, Germin8 Ventures, TO Ventures Food, Endeavor8, Alumni Ventures Group and Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund.
Venture Capital: Fifth Wall VC Raises $500M To Decarbonize Real Estate
Venture capital firm Fifth Wall has raised $500 million for its inaugural Climate Fund that seeks to help decarbonize global real estate through investments in software, hardware, renewable energy, energy storage, smart buildings, and carbon sequestration technologies. Investors included American Homes 4 Rent, BBVA, British Land, Camden Property Trust, CBRE, Cosan, The Durst Organization, Equity Residential, Hilton, Host Hotels & Resorts, Hudson Pacific Properties, Invitation Homes, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Kimco Realty Corporation, Lineage Ventures, MGM Resorts, NZ Super Fund, Osgoode Properties, and UDR, among others.
Artificial Intelligence: Suit Claims A Chicago Man Was Wrongfully Imprisoned Based On ShotSpotter AI
After spending nearly a year behind bars, Michael Williams filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago over the shooting of a man in his car in 2017. Prosecutors withdrew the charges against the 65-year-old after they discovered insufficient evidence. The human rights advocacy group at Northwestern University said the city’s law enforcement relied solely on ShotSpotter technology and ignored other leads in the investigation.
Venture Capital/ESG: Sustainable Lithium Extraction Startup EnergyX Lands IPO-Linked Funding Commitment Of $450M
Global Emerging Markets (GEM) has committed an investment of $450 million in lithium and battery technology startup Energy Exploration Technologies (EnergyX). The funds will be used to commercialize the latter’s direct lithium extraction and refining technologies. EnergyX’s LiTAS technology has been tested in the Lithium Triangle in South America and increases lithium production from 30% to 94% of what is normally recovered.
Alternative Investments/ESG: State Street Launches Paris-Aligned Emerging Markets Stock ETF
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has launched a climate-friendly emerging market ETF. The SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets Climate Paris Aligned UCITS ETF (SPF7) is listed on Deutsche Boerse, Borsa Italiana, the London Stock Exchange, and Euronext Amsterdam.
Venture Capital: IQM, European Maker Of Quantum Computers, Lands €128 million ($128m) In Series A2 Funding
IQM Quantum Computers, which is based in Espoo, Finland, and makes world-beating quantum computers for the benefit of mankind, announced its €128 million Series A2 funding round led by World Fund with the participation of Bayern Kapital, EIC Fund, OurCrowd, QCI SPV, Tofino and Varma along with its existing investors Maki.vc, Matadero QED, MIG Fonds, OpenOcean, Salvia GmbH, Santo Venture Capital GmbH, Tencent, Tesi, and Vsquared. Quantum computing is expected to improve drug discovery, transform encryption and data protection, and predict financial systems. For example, a problem that could take a supercomputer 10,000 years to solve would take a quantum computer only four minutes.
Venture Capital/ESG: Meati, Which Makes Alt Meats From Mushroom Roots, Raises $150M
Meati Foods, which makes plant-based meats using mushroom roots as a major ingredient, announced its successful closing of a $150 million Series C round led by Revolution Growth, with participation from existing and new investors, including Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Wellington Management, and Cultivate Next, Chipotle Mexican Grill’s new venture fund which includes Meati Foods in its first cohort of investments.
FinTech: “No Credit History Required” Card Offerer Tomocredit Lands $122M
Tomocredit, a credit card provider that does not insist on a FICO score from borrowers such as credit-invisible immigrants and international students with no credit history in the U.S, announced its raise of $122 million in equity and debt. The oversubscribed round met with participation by Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund, MasterCard, and debt from Silicon Valley Bank. Major fintech investors and culture funds including GoldHouse, Asian Hustle network, and Hyphen Capital, also participated.
Venture Capital/ESG: TAE Achieves 75 Million Degrees Celsius In Fusion Energy Reactor, Raises $250M From Marquee Investors
TAE Technologies, the fusion energy startup on track to commercialize its technology by the mid-2030s, has raised a $250 million Series G-2 round from investors including Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Sumitomo Corporation (TYO: 8053) of Americas, TIFF Investment Management, Reimagined Ventures, a large U.S. West coast based mutual fund manager, a big U.S. pension fund, and others. The round recognized TAE’s progress towards commercial fusion energy after Norman, the company’s fifth-generation fusion reactor, sustained stable plasma at more than 75 million degrees Celsius, 250% higher than its original goal.
Alternative Investments/ESG: ARK To Shutter Its Transparency ETF
Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management LLC announced the closure of its ARK Transparency ETF (BATS: CTRU) with effect from July 26, on which date it will stop trading on the CBOE. The investment manager said it decided to shutter the ETF because Transparency Global, the provider of the ETF’s index, will stop calculating the Transparency Index (TRANSPCY) effective July 31, 2022.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Deka Launches New UCITS ETF Focused On Future Energy Sources
The Deka Future Energy ESG UCITS ETF from issuer Deka has commenced trading on Xetra and Börse Frankfurt since July 14. The ETF invests in companies that contribute to promoting the transformation of the energy sector, including companies from the fields of solar and wind energy, geothermal energy, hydrogen propulsion and battery and energy storage technology.
Alternative Investments/ESG: “God Bless America,” An Anti-Activism ETF On The Cards
Tidal ETF Trust filed on July 13 for listing an actively-managed ETF named “God Bless America” under the ticker “YALL” on a national securities exchange. The politically-themed ETF will avoid investments in companies that “have emphasized political activism and social agendas at the expense of maximizing shareholder returns,” for example, abortion, a “hot-button” political item with no bearing on their business. The investible companies should also have a track record of creating American jobs.
Venture Capital: BrightEdge, The Venture Arm Of American Cancer Society, Ties Up With VC Third Rock Ventures
Leading biotech and healthcare venture firm Third Rock Ventures and BrightEdge LLC, the venture arm of the American Cancer Society (ACS), will collaborate for investing in early-stage startups focused on cancer treatments. BrightEdge will therefore get to participate in the the Series A and follow-on financing rounds of such companies as are backed by Third Rock.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Advisors Asset Management Launches ETF Focused On Transformative Technologies
Launched on Tuesday, the AAM Transformers ETF (NYSEARCA: TRFM) is the first thematic offering from Advisors Asset Management (AAM). The ETF screens for companies that exhibit stronger sales growth and capex growth compared to their peers, as well as allocate significantly to R&D spending.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Harbor Capital Launches New ETF To Address The Global Energy Transition
Investment manager Harbor Capital Advisors has launched the fully transparent Harbor Energy Transition Strategy ETF (RENW) to offer investors the opportunity to benefit from the energy transition megatrend that will see the world move from fossil-heavy energy sources and consumption to less carbon-intensive modes.
Alternative Investments/ESG: DWS Launches An ESG Eurozone Sovereign Bonds ETF
DWS has launched the Xtrackers II ESG Eurozone Government Bond UCITS ETF (XZEB GY). The ETF targets investments in the sovereign debt issued by countries in the eurozone.
The ETF tracks the FTSE ESG Select EMU Government Bond Index which covers fixed-rate, investment-grade sovereign bonds that are denominated in euros and issued by countries belonging to the common currency. Only bonds that have a minimum issue size of €2.5 billion and have a year to go before their maturity date are included in this index.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Purpose Launches Global Equity ETF With ESG Focus
Purpose Investments Inc. has launched the Black Diamond Impact Core Equity Fund (TSX: BDIC), an ETF offering diverse exposure across equity securities of companies all around the world that demonstrate a forward-looking sensitivity to Environmental, Social, and Governance factors.
Artificial Intelligence: The Australian City Of Sydney To Monitor Road Conditions Using AI Sensors On Buses
On Tuesday, New South Wales, a state in Australia, announced Asset AI, a A$2.9 million project to trial technology for monitoring the conditions on roads in Greater Sydney through the use of sensors on 32 public buses operating on various routes in the city.