Tag Archives: Impact Investing

Business

Morgan Stanley Impact Investment Platform attracts support from AAA

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AAA is speaking out in support of the launch of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Investing and Impact Platform, which is intended to make it easier for investors to put their money into socially responsible projects.

Boston, MA, USA, June 23, 2012 — Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) is speaking out in support of the launch of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Investing and Impact Platform, which is intended to make it easier for investors to put their money into socially responsible projects.

The investments offered through the platform are intended to be socially and environmentally responsible while offering risk-adjusted financial returns. “The project should enable more financial advisers offer a wide range of impact investing products to the masses and not just the wealthy”, explained AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson.

AAA claims that the market for impact investing is growing, with one in every eight dollars in the US invested in projects that are considered to have corporate and societal responsibility at their center. This totals a huge $3.07 trillion in value terms and shows that people do want to make responsible decisions that align their financial goals with their personal ethics.

Mr Johnson added, “The more products available, for those interested in impact investing, the better.

“We are seeing more and more individuals and even institutional investors looking for ways to make a difference while they make money and these kinds of platforms make it easier to do so.”

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Paul Hatch, added, “With over 4 million clients who have more than $1.7 trillion of investable assets, we are in a unique position to extend the reach of an ‘investing with impact’ program to one of the largest sets of investors in the world.

“Even a fraction of this total represents a substantial amount that could be invested in support of the common good.”

AAA supports a range of ethical investment funds and projects and is especially keen to promote forestry investment as a profitable and ethical options. Mr Johnson explained, “investing in plantations, like the ones run by Greenwood Management and other firms in Brazil, offers a great diversifier for any portfolio and can also help to safeguard the future of sustainable forestry for generations to come.”

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

AAA support Health care Benefits of Impact investing

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A new form of impact investing could lead to a rise in life expectancy by helping to deal with the causes of health problems, according to analysts and AAA.

Boston, MA, May 05, 2012 – A new form of impact investing could lead to a rise in life expectancy by helping to deal with the causes of health problems, according to analysts and Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

A new white paper from researchers at UC Berkeley argues that Health impact Bonds and similar impact investing routes can help save lives in developing countries and at home. The paper, that was also put together with help from Collective Health, suggested that these bonds help to address the underlying social problems that cause people to make unhealthy choices that can affect their long-term health.

The researchers’ white paper follows claims that the majority of increase life expectancy in the US has come as a result of lifestyle, social health care, cleanliness and hygiene, rather than from better care once ill.

It is, then, advantageous to try to deal with the root cause of ill health rather than simply ploughing money into more and more care once people have already become ill.

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson, explained that impact investing can help in some very straightforward ways. “Money invested into socially and environmentally responsible projects can go towards anything from building clean water wells in Africa to providing education on healthy eating seminars in inner-city America.

“Either way, it’s a lot more ethical than investing in stocks and shares,” added Johnson.

Health Impact bonds can help projects such as the efforts to cut asthma in Fresno, California, through a simple education process, helping people remove mold from their homes and get new air filters and soft furnishings.

AAA claims that impact investing has brought benefits to many areas of the world and that investing in sustainable forestry projects can help communities in developing countries to safeguard their forestry industry for generations to come. “Investing in projects such as the Health Impact Bonds and Greenwood Management’s plantation schemes in Brazil can ensure investments make a real difference,” added Johnson.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

AAA champions Geldof’s Africa investment message

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Campaigner Bob Geldof took the opportunity of the annual Superreturn International conference in Berlin to spend an hour extolling the virtues of investing in Africa, in a move that has been welcomes by impact investing advocacy group, AAA.

Boston, MA, USA, March 31, 2012 — Campaigner Bob Geldof took the opportunity of the annual Superreturn International conference in Berlin to spend an hour extolling the virtues of investing in Africa, in a move that has been welcomes by impact investing advocacy group, Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

AAA claims that Geldof’s speech roused interest in the opportunities that investing in Africa offers. He effectively massaged the egos of the private equity investor crowd with statements like: “You must go and kick the tyres. You are the guys who go where capital needs to go. Capital will only go where it is sent.”

He also spoke about the vast resources that Africa holds and how the investors should not be left behind, leaving the opportunity to others: “Do we leave this vast continent, with all the resources we will ever need, do we leave it to China? Eight miles from Europe, do we just leave it to them?”

Geldof is involved in his own Africa-focused investment vehicles, called 8 Mile, which has already attracted $200 million of investment.

AAA’s analysis partner Anthony Johnson said, “The timing of Geldof’ speech was perfect as impact investing and investing in environmentally and socially responsible schemes in the developing world is increasingly popular right now.”

He added, “The equity markets are still on very shaky ground and traditional investments are not looking as attractive as they once were.”

AAA supports investment in a number of ethical projects, Including the sustainable plantation schemes run by Greenwood Management and a number of other similar firms in Brazil, the US, Canada, Costa Rica and other high-forested regions.

Mr Johnson said, “Investing in timber is a popular option at the moment as demand is set to continue to grow off the back of economic growth in China and India. Demand for raw materials like Timber is set to exceed supply soon enough, which will drive prices skyward.”

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

College Impact investing challenge welcomed by AAA

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Highlighting the popularity of alternative investments is this year’s International Impact Investing Challenge at Northwestern University and the University of California, which has been welcomed by AAA.

Boston, MA, March 23, 2012 – Highlighting the popularity of alternative investments and impact investing is this year’s International Impact Investing Challenge at Northwestern University and the University of California, which has been welcomed by Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

The challenge, run by the universities’ business schools, sponsors some of their brightest and best financial minds to make ethical and profitable impact investing decisions, which will help onlookers to realise the benefits of this approach, according to AAA.

One of the schools involved is the Kellogg School of Management, whose associate director, Jamie Jones, said, “Now in its second year, the International Impact Investing Challenge encourages students from graduate schools around the world to identify strategies that create solutions for global social issues – as well as deliver financial returns.”

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson added, “This sums up impact investing very well because making an ethical choice, that will make a difference to people in the developing world, does not have to come at financial price. Positives social impact and healthy returns are by no means mutually exclusive and we’re glad that initiatives like this are helping to spread the word.”

Some of the ideas that the teams came up with last year included dealing with food shortages in India and developing clean power for larger, established economies, like the US. More and more people are realising that their cash can help facilitate environmental or social change, while making them more profit than it would sitting in a savings account, explained AAA.

AAA is an alternative investment advocacy group that also supports impact investment in developing economies around the world. It supports environmentally responsible investment projects such as the plantation schemes run by firms like Greenwood Management in Brazil. “These schemes help to increase plantation timber, which in turn, helps to reduce the reliance on natural forests,” added Johnson.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

AAA supports calls to make Impact investing easier

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AAA, an ethical and alternative investment advocacy group has spoken out to support a recent article in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, which called for social investing to be made easier for those who are not super-wealthy.

Boston, MA, February 15, 2012 – Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA), an ethical and alternative investment advocacy group has spoken out to support a recent article in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, which called for social investing to be made easier for those who are not super-wealthy.

As the article claims, social investment is an attractive concept for most people, but those interested may find that they hit a brick wall when they try to find out how they can actually access a fund themselves.

Many of the investors in impact investing funds are charitable trusts and those who have large sums to invest through boutique, specialized means.

According to the Guardian article though, there are more option becoming available. An example is the Allia bond in the UK, which groups together investors’ contributions – some as small as £100 – and use to offer loans through a social housing provider with an AA rating.

Another option is an account-based option called Shared Interest, which takes the form of a financial cooperative that takes cash from investors and offers funding for fair-trade farming initiatives and other socially responsible projects.

AAA, which supports many kinds of impact investing, including both environmentally and socially responsible projects, thinks it could still be easier for the man on the street to put his savings into ethical investments.

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson, explained, “investing in ethical, alternative asset classes is becoming more and more mainstream, but there is still limited access for most of us who want to put out money where our mouth is, metaphorically speaking.”

AAA does point out that ethical investment can be easiest to achieve through sustainable forestry investment through projects, such as Greenwood Management‘s plantation in Brazil. “These offer individuals the chance to invest just £10,000 in exchange for a section of plantation land where fast-growing non-native timbers are grown,” explained Mr Johnson to UK–based investors.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

Impact investing conference welcomed by AAA

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Alternative investment advocacy group, AAA, has announced its support for an impact investing conference coming to Hawaii later this year.

Boston, MA, January 18, 2012 – Alternative investment advocacy group, Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA), has announced its support for an impact investing conference coming to Hawaii on February 9.

The conference, focused entirely on impact investing, is to take place in Hawaii in an attempt to raise more awareness and interest in socially and environmentally responsible investing in the island nation.

Chenoa Farnsworth, a local venture capitalist, has organised the event at the Honolulu Centre, aimed firmly at philanthropists, as well as at traditional investors, entrepreneurs and those simply interested in diversifying their portfolios to include an ethical, alternative option.

Impact investing is increasingly attractive to those who may not have thought of themselves as philanthropists or even alternative investors, Anthony Johnson, AAA’s analysis partner has claimed. “Ms Farnsworth is an example of those who are seeing the light as a result of the economic crisis and the greed and ignorance that led banks down such a disastrous route,” added Johnson.

Farnsworth explained, “About a year and a half ago, I became interested in impact investments, which is looking for both financial returns and social and economic benefit.”

She added, “Hawaii has a tremendous growing climate and conditions and several crop-related companies are starting or moving here to test their crop viability. These include biofuels feedstock and petroleum-based ingredients substitutes such as algae.”

Growing sustainable crops and forests are central to AAA’s support for impact investing in developing countries, where generating foreign investment in sustainable forestry projects can help reduce deforestation while providing healthy returns. “Projects like the plantation schemes run by Greenwood Management in Brazil offer the chance of strong, reliable returns through timber price increases and natural growth, while helping to safeguard the future of the sustainable Brazilian forestry industry for generations to come,” explained Mr Johnson.

Representatives from several Hawaii-based impact investing schemes will be attending and speaking at the event.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

AAA calls for responsible investment in response to Occupy movement

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Alternative investment and impact investing advocacy group, Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA), has announced its support for more social enterprise investment as called for by London-based expert, Luke Fletcher.

Boston, MA, December 01, 2011 – Alternative investment and impact investing advocacy group, Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA), has announced its support for more social enterprise investment as called for by London-based expert, Luke Fletcher.

Fletcher, of the Social Finance Group, claims that investing in social enterprise initiatives could be the most workable solution to the current unrest about the financial markets. AAA supports this claim and is looking to raise awareness of both the global impact of socially responsible investment, and the potential returns they can offer.

Writing for SocialEnterpriseLive.com, Mr Fletcher asserted that those involved in demonstrations against fat-cat wages and the general model on which global business operates, through the Occupy protests, should be focusing their efforts on promoting social enterprise as an alternative.

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson, added, “We are keen to remind people that there is an alternative to stocks and shares and that it is possible to make a real statement against capitalism through sensible, ethical investments in social and environmental projects.”

Mr Fletcher explained, “Social impact investment is projected by JP Morgan to be at least a $400 million-$1 trillion industry over the next decade.” He added that the City of London needs to realise this potential and leverage its strength to move to the forefront of this emerging asset class.

AAA promotes impact investing as a means of making strong returns while steering cash injections in a direction that is positive for developing countries, vulnerable communities and the environment. Some ethical alternatives have already caught on in the mainstream, such as forestry investments through firms like Greenwood Management, which manages sustainable forestry plantations in Brazil. However, more needs to be done, claims AAA.

AAA joins Luke Fletcher and many others involved in social enterprise, in hoping that the Occupy movement triggers a change in attitude, among investors in general, towards more responsible and fair investment choices.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com