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
Venture Capital: Urban Clean Energy Startup BlocPower Gets $5.5M From The Bezos Earth Fund
BlocPower, a Brooklyn-based energy technology startup focused on decarbonization of buildings and cities, received a $5.5 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund. The amount was part of new donations of $443 million that the Fund disbursed to various climate and environmental groups this week.
Artificial Intelligence: Controversial AI Company Clearview To Nab Patent For “A Search Engine For Faces”
Clearview AI, the company that has been under fire from governments, tech giants and privacy advocacy organizations for scraping facial images from social media, is on the cusp of bagging a patent for a “search engine for faces” that can roam the internet to find matches.
Venture Capital: Investing Platform Public.com Now Has Tennis Star Maria Sharapova On Board
Former tennis star Maria Sharapova has picked up an undisclosed stake in Public.com, an investing platform that has more than 1 million users, 90% of which are first time investors. In a nod towards promoting financial literacy, Sharapova said she appreciated how Public broke down the category into simple, educational, user-friendly steps to make investing less intimidating, and helped users take control of their finances more confidently.
Digital Assets: El Salvador Ecologist Warns Of Disaster Mix From Bitcoin, Volcanos, And Drug Lords
El Salvador’s leading ecologist Ricardo Navarro, who runs a non-governmental organization CESTA (Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology), said in an interview with the Telegraph that President Nayib Bukele’s plans to use geothermal and volcanic energy to mine bitcoin were ill-advised.
Venture Capital: Porsche Buys A Stake In Sustainable Homes-Focused Startup 1KOMMA5°
Porsche, the German car maker, has taken a stake in Hamburg-based startup 1KOMMA5° through its venture finance arm, Porsche Ventures. The startup seeks to boost the rollout of presently decentralized technologies related to renewable energy and mobility for homes by knitting together electrical installation entrepreneurs and companies onto a networking platform. 1KOMMA5° will also support them with technology for digitizing their business and centralization of admin tasks, as well as provide growth capital.
Venture Capital: Commonwealth Fusion Systems Raises $1.8B To Build The SPARC Net Energy Fusion Machine
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the Cambridge-based startup developing fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals, has closed a $1.8 billion Series B round led by Tiger Global Management and included new investors such as Bill Gates, John Doerr, Google, and Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures.
Alternative Investments/Real Estate: UOB Launches APAC-Focused, Green REIT ETF
Singapore’s United Overseas Bank ( UOB ) Asset Management has launched the UOB APAC Green REIT ETF (GRE SP), which has been listed on Singapore Exchange and provides ESG-tilted exposure to high-yielding real estate investment trusts (REITs) listed in Asia Pacific and Oceania. The fund is said to be the first of its kind in the world that brings investors access to sustainable investments in real estate in the region.
Venture Capital: Agtech And Farmer-To-Farmer Platform FBN Raises $300M
Farmers Business Network (FBN) is a farmer-to-farmer network launched in 2014 as an information source and for sharing of agronomic precision data. It now has thousands of farmer-members managing millions of acres of land across the world. FBN announced last week its $300 million Series G funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC with participation from LN Mittal Family Office, ADM Ventures Investment Corp., Colle Capital Partners, Walleye Capital, and Tudor Investment Corporation.
Alternative Investments/ESG: RBC Unit BlueBay Asset Management Launches Multi-Asset ESG Strategy
Specialist fixed income manager BlueBay Asset Management, which is owned by the Royal Bank of Canada, announced the launch of the BlueBay Total Return Diversified Credit ESG Fund. It is a multi-asset strategy suitable for ESG-oriented investors in fixed income assets. The fund will provide exposure to its ESG-focused ‘best ideas,’ across global high yield, bank loans, financial capital bonds, structured credit, convertible bonds, emerging markets and developed market investment grade categories.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Amundi Launches China And Emerging Markets (Ex-China) Equities ETFS With ESG
Amundi’s ESG ETF range is bolstered with the addition of the Amundi MSCI Emerging ex-China ESG Leaders Select UCITS ETF DR and the Amundi MSCI China ESG Leaders Select UCITS ETF DR, both listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Alternative Investments/ESG: HSBC Launches Two ESG Corporate Bond ETFs
HSBC Asset Management debuts its first fixed income ETFs with an ESG skew. The HSBC Bloomberg EUR Corporate Sustainability Bond UCITS ETF (HEUC) and the HSBC Bloomberg USD Corporate Sustainability UCITS ETF (HUSC) carry a total expense ratio of 0.18%.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Faith Brings “Christian Values” To Stock Picking With New ETF
Faith Investor Services has filed for the launch of the FIS Biblically Responsible Risk Managed ETF which brings “Christian values” to stock investing. The ETF will trade on the NYSEARCA exchange and will invest in equities both at home and internationally.
Artificial Intelligence: AI-Based Detection Of Trafficked Wildlife Under Trial At Heathrow
A multispecies, AI-based model jointly developed by Heathrow, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Smiths Detection has shown, in initial trials, a success rate of over 70% in its detection of illegally trafficked wildlife concealed in baggage and air cargo.
Alternative Investments/AI: Global X Launches Seven New “Paradigm Shift” ETFs In Europe
ETF provider Global X ETFs announced today its launch of seven new UCITS ETFs in Europe that would trade on the London Stock Exchange and Xetra. The seven new ETFs complement Global X’s existing five thematic UCITS ETFs launched after Global X entered Europe in December 2020. The new ETFs center around disruptive, digital transformation around the world.
Venture Capital: Bioenergy Devco Raises $100M For Sustainable Organic Waste Recycling
Bioenergy Devco last week raised $100 million from funds managed by alternative investment manager Irradiant Partners, a firm which specializes in climate infrastructure, private equity and credit. Bioenergy Devco creates renewable, carbon-negative energy by recycling organic waste using its proven anaerobic digestion technology.
Venture Capital: Swedish Battery Startup Northvolt Produces Lithium-Ion Battery Using Recycled Materials
What will happen to the approximately 250,000 tons of batteries that will reach their end-of-life in Europe alone by 2030? Swedish battery startup Northvolt has the answer: recycle them. Northvolt announced today the successful production of its first battery cell made of 100% recycled nickel, manganese and cobalt.
Alternative Investments/Real Estate: Goldman Sachs Rolls Out Sustainable Real Estate ETF
The fund manager launches a trio of new ETFs aimed at disruptive investing; one of them is themed on sustainable real estate and infrastructure. Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) launched this week the Goldman Sachs Future Consumer Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: GBUY), the Goldman Sachs Future Health Care Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: GDOC) and the Goldman Sachs…
Alternative Investments/ESG: VanEck Targets Energy Transition, Launches New Green Metals ETF
VanEck launched Thursday a new ETF focused on ‘green metals.’ The VanEck Green Metals ETF (NYSEARCA: GMET) will invest in companies whose businesses focus on metals including copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel, zinc and rare earths metals, which are essential for clean energy technology as well as lithium batteries.
Venture Capital: Crowdfunded Ecologi Plants Trees In Return For Your Subscription
Ecologi, which exhorts you to become climate-friendly for less than $2.75 a week, is a platform for climate action, helping individuals, families and businesses become carbon-positive for a subscription. Subscribers can fund carbon reduction projects to offset their footprint and also grow their own virtual forests.
Alternative Investments/ESG: iShares Launches ESG Corporate Bond ETF
The fund manager has expanded its range of sustainable products with the launch of new fixed income and low volatility ETFs. On Wednesday, iShares launched the iShares ESG Advanced Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (ELQD), which tracks the iBoxx MSCI ESG Advanced USD Liquid Investment Grade Index and carries an expense ratio of 0.18%. (ETF…
Alternative Investments/ESG: Canada’s Purpose Investments To Launch Carbon Neutral Crypto ETFs
Purpose Investments, a Canadian fund manager with AUM in excess of $1 billion as of March 2021, is launching today the Purpose Bitcoin ETF and the Purpose Ether ETF. Both funds offer ‘green’ exposure to the respective spot cryptocurrencies through an inbuilt carbon offsetting feature in the funds.
Alternative Investments/ESG: iShares Launches ESG ETF For Low Volatility Large And Mid-cap Stocks
The iShares ESG MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (NASDAQ: ESMV) is a newly launched fund from Blackrock that offers investors the opportunity to invest in U.S. large and mid cap stocks that have low volatility and yet offer reduced carbon exposure and better ESG characteristics.
Venture Capital: [COP26] Scottish Vertical Farms Startup IGS Nabs $57M
Intelligent Growth Solutions, a Scottish agritech startup focused on indoor vertical farming announced its closure of a £42.2 million (US$57 million) Series B round that was supported by new investors including COFRA, Cleveland Avenue and DC Thomson. Existing institutional investors Ospraie Ag Science, S2G Ventures, AgFunder and Scottish Enterprise, with private shareholders and IGS staff also participated in the round, which was hugely oversubscribed.
Venture Capital: Fusion Energy Startup Helion Raises $500M Including $375M From Sam Altman
Helion Energy, which is building the world’s first fusion power plant that would enable a future with unlimited clean electricity, announced a $500 million Series E round led by Sam Altman. Existing investors, including Dustin Moskovitz, Mithril Capital and Capricorn Investment Group, also participated in the round. Altman, who has been an early supporter of Helion and chairman since 2015, invested $375 million in the latest round and will now play an expanded role as executive chairman.