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: A New Large Cap Equity ESG ETF From Stance Capital
Stance Capital announced last week the launch of its Stance Equity ESG Large Cap Core ETF (NYSE: STNC). Stance previously offered ESG exposure via an active, semi-concentrated strategy, with a proprietary machine learning model and risk optimization overlay in separately-managed-accounts (SMA) for institutions and high net worth individuals, and through model delivery across a range of platforms.
FinTech: SaaS Banking Platform Mambu Is First Off The Block With A Shariah Version
SaaS banking software provider Mambu announced Monday the launch of the cloud-native, Shariah-compliant version of its banking platform. The solution enables Islamic banks and lenders across the world to offer banking that is fully compliant with all the tenets of Islamic banking and was made available from the end of 2020.
Alternative Investments/ESG: UBS Launches New “Climate Aware” ETF
The UBS Climate Aware Global Developed Equity CTB UCITS ETF provides investors with access to large- and mid-cap global stocks that have a strong climate-positive profile, are compliant with UBS’ Climate Aware framework, and tilt towards the global transition to a low carbon economy.
Artificial Intelligence: Acciona To Use Its Maestro AI Platform At Qatar Desalination Plant
Spanish infrastructure and renewable energy giant Acciona won the contract for the design, construction, and O&M of the Umm Al Houl SWRO desalination plant in Qatar in 2015. The plant will produce 564,000 m3 of desalinated water per day, enough to serve 1.1 million people, after the start-up of operations in April. Acciona will fund an AI project at the facility from its dedicated decarbonization fund.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Defiance Launches The First Hydrogen ETF In The U.S.
Defiance ETFs announced Wednesday their launch of the Next Gen H2 Fund (NYSE: HDRO), the first of its kind in the U.S., that will focus on hydrogen as a cleaner source of energy. The fund will invest in companies engaged in the development of hydrogen-based energy sources and fuel technologies.
Venture Capital: SunFunder Raises $70M For Its Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund
An investment from OesterreichischeEntwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), the Austrian government’s development bank, has helped SunFunder close its oversubscribed $70 million Solar Energy Transformation Fund. Other participants in the fund included Swedfund, the IKEA Foundation, Bank of America, Mercy Investment Services, the Schmidt Family Foundation, and members from the Toniic impact investor network.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Invesco Launches Global Clean Energy ETF In London
Invesco has launched its Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF on the London Stock Exchange denominated in US dollars (GCLE LN) and pound sterling (GCLX LN). The new thematic ETF is linked to the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index from WilderShares, LLC. The expense ratio of the ETF is 0.60%.
Digital Assets: India’s Tata Power Testing Blockchain-Based P2P Solar Energy Trading Marketplace
Tata Power DDL, a power distribution utility in Delhi, India, Australian technology company Power Ledger and the India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) are collaborating on a project to enable the peer-to-peer (P2P) trading of solar energy using the blockchain.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Northern Trust Launches New ETFs In Europe
Northern Trust Asset Management’s (NASDAQ: NTRS) FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds announced today its maiden ETFs in Europe. The FlexShares Developed Markets Low Volatility Climate ESG UCITS ETF (QVFD) and the FlexShares Developed Market High Dividend Climate ESG UCITS ETF (QDFD) launched on both the London Stock Exchange and EuroNext.
Alternative Investments/ESG: VanEck’s Vectors Global Clean Energy ETF Soon To Debut On ASX
VanEck is in the final stages of prepping the Vectors Global Clean Energy ETF (ASX: CLNE) for launch on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in the ensuing weeks. The ETF will focus on the clean energy sector, which is expected to benefit from President Biden’s commitment to the climate agreement.
Alternative Investments/ESG: New ETF From UBS For Exposure To Swiss Equity + ESG
UBS launches the UBS SPI ESG ETF (SPISI SW). The new ETF from UBS Asset Management provides broad exposure to the Swiss equity market with an additional focus on ESG factors. The ETF has listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Artificial Intelligence: After Gebru, Google Terminates Another AI Researcher
Margaret Mitchell, an AI researcher and a leader of Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Ethical AI team, was terminated by the company after a suspension that commenced last month. Dr Mitchell said in a tweet on Friday afternoon: “I’m fired.”
Artificial Intelligence: AI To Log Fishing Effort In Oregon
How do you estimate and account for how much fishing – recreational or commercial – is actually going on in your friendly neighborhood ocean? That information is central to measuring catch and ultimately, the sustainability of the fish and marine life in the water body. The EDF launched today its SmartPass fishery monitoring system that combines the use of shore-based cameras, AI, and automated image analysis to monitor fishing effort.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Down Under, Betashares Launches A Climate Change Innovation ETF
BetaShares, the Australian asset manager, has launched the BetaShares Climate Change Innovation ETF (ERTH). Many global companies will reap the benefits from the massive transition to a sustainable planet, given that climate change is recognized as the defining challenge of this age.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Protects Endangered Sea Turtles From Feral Pigs
Sea turtles are an endangered species, not only from mankind’s activities. Their nests on Queensland’s western Cape York are a favorite prey for feral pigs. The pigs have wiped out sea turtles from great swathes of beaches south of Aurukun, in the Far North Queensland, Australia. Scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science research agency, and rangers have tried for the past six years to protect the nests from the marauding pigs using drones and helicopters. They are now harnessing AI for the purpose.
Venture Capital: Marquee Investors Put $300M Into Adjuvant Capital For Overlooked Diseases
Adjuvant Capital, which finances cures for “high-burden and neglected diseases,” announced today its raise of an oversubscribed $300 million fund from big names in pharma and philanthropy. Diseases such as malaria, shigella, hookworm, tuberculosis, and Lassa fever affect millions of people in the poorer countries.
Alternative Investments/ESG: LGIM’s Hydrogen Economy ETF Debuts In Europe
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has introduced a new ETF to complement its existing range of sustainable thematic ETFs, namely the L&G Clean Energy UCITS ETF and the L&G Battery Value-Chain UCITS ETF. LGIM has launched its L&G Hydrogen Economy UCITS ETF, a vehicle for investors looking to benefit from the global transition to a low-carbon, hydrogen economy.
Venture Capital: Investors, Including Big Oil, Back Eavor Technologies With $40M
Eavor Technologies leverages deep drilling expertise from the oil industry to construct a looped well that harvests geothermal energy from deep below the earth. The technology has drawn a $40 million investment, including from Big Oil companies such as the venture arms of BP (LON: BP) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX).
Alternative Investments/ESG: Colin Kaepernick Forms SPAC Eyeing $1B ESG Consumer Company
An SEC filing on Tuesday revealed that Mission Advancement Corp., an ESG-focused SPAC founded by Colin Kaepernick and Jahm Najafi, will raise $250 million via an IPO. The company will offer 25 million units at $10. Each unit will consist of one share of common stock and one-third of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50.
The SPAC, or “blank check company,” intends to acquire a so-far unidentified target, approximately sized $1 billion, and having a positive ESG impact.
Artificial Intelligence: Mitsui OSK And Bearing Develop AI-Powered Smart Routing Of Ships To Cut Emissions
An AI-powered Smart Routing Engine predicts the most fuel-efficient route for the ship. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (TYO: 9104), one of the largest shipping companies in the world, has an operational fleet of approximately 800 ships. Since 2019, Mitsui has been collaborating with Silicon Valley-based Bearing.ai, an Artificial Intelligence technology startup, on improving shipping efficiencies….
Venture Capital: Brand New VC Firm Panoramic Ventures To Focus On Diversity And Under-Funded Regions
Panoramic Ventures is a new Atlanta-based VC firm. It is a partnership between Paul Judge, a black serial entrepreneur and investor, and BIP Capital. The latter has more than $550 million in assets under management. While announcing its formation, Panoramic also flagged off a new $300 million fund targeted at founders from under-capitalized communities and startups located in the south-west and mid-west regions of America.
Digital Assets: Why Bitcoin Miners Love The Xinjiang Province In China
Cheap power generated using coal in the Xinjiang province is a magnet for bitcoin miners. That trend will only intensify now that bitcoin has hit an all-time high above $47,000 after Elon Musk revealed Tesla’s $1.5 billion investment in the crypto.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Foster Denovo Expands Sustainable Portfolios With Passive Range
In October financial advisory firm Foster Denovo launched its new range of actively managed sustainable portfolios that addressed investors’ need for socially responsible investments that also provided a rate of return. Today, the firm announced the addition of “Passive Sustainable Dynamic Portfolios” to that suite of products.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Gabelli Launches The “Love Our Planet & People (LOPP)” ETF
Gabelli Funds rolled out the first of its nine Precidian ActiveShares actively managed ETFs. The Love Our Planet & People (LOPP) ETF is an Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) ETF.