Institutional Investor – Ken Pucker http://kpp.active-interactive.com Writer, Investor, Advisory Director, Berkshire Partners - Professor of Practice, Fletcher School Tufts University Thu, 08 Aug 2024 15:36:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 http://kpp.active-interactive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/cropped-PhotoKP-32x32.jpeg Institutional Investor – Ken Pucker http://kpp.active-interactive.com 32 32 Proponents and Critics of ESG Claim It Can Change Society. Both Will Be Disappointed http://kpp.active-interactive.com/articles/proponents-and-critics-of-esg-claim-it-can-change-society-both-will-be-disappointed-2/ Tue, 28 May 2024 20:12:48 +0000 http://kpp.active-interactive.com/?p=612 Flooding from torrential rains recently led Vermonters to kayak through the streets of the state capital. A month later, Hawaiians were forced to flee to the ocean to avoid devastating blazes. All the while, toxic smoke from wildfires has imperiled the health of Americans across huge swaths of the country. All these alarming environmental developments hurt economic activity. Yet many political leaders seem preoccupied with banning investors from considering the impacts of the fast-changing environment on business.

https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2c3comfbca055bi96zxts/opinion/proponents-and-critics-of-esg-claim-it-can-change-society-both-will-be-disappointed

 

]]> 612 Proponents and Critics of ESG Claim It Can Change Society. Both Will Be Disappointed http://kpp.active-interactive.com/articles/proponents-and-critics-of-esg-claim-it-can-change-society-both-will-be-disappointed/ Wed, 23 Aug 2023 20:59:34 +0000 http://kpp.active-interactive.com/?p=498 Flooding from torrential rains recently led Vermonters to kayak through the streets of the state capital. A month later, Hawaiians were forced to flee to the ocean to avoid devastating blazes. All the while, toxic smoke from wildfires has imperiled the health of Americans across huge swaths of the country. All these alarming environmental developments hurt economic activity. Yet many political leaders seem preoccupied with banning investors from considering the impacts of the fast-changing environment on business.

These fervent objections to the longstanding use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria in investing are a recent political chimera emanating — at least in part — from the overselling of an ill-defined concept. ESG investors include nonfinancial factors in their decisions to buy or sell a security or private asset. ESG does not, however, prevent them or anybody else from purchasing the stocks of fossil fuel companies, nor does it contribute essential primary capital to develop solutions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

 

https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2c3comfbca055bi96zxts/opinion/proponents-and-critics-of-esg-claim-it-can-change-society-both-will-be-disappointed

]]> 498 The Trillion-Dollar Fantasy Linking ESG Investing to Planetary Impact http://kpp.active-interactive.com/articles/the-trillion-dollar-fantasy-linking-esg-investing-to-planetary-impact-institutional-investor/ Mon, 13 Sep 2021 15:46:25 +0000 http://kpp.active-interactive.com/?p=75  

Institutional Investor

The Trillion-Dollar Fantasy Linking ESG Investing to Planetary Impact (Institutional Investor)On April 8, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration observatory in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, reported that the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere had reached 419 parts per million, the highest levels recorded in more than 4 million years. That same day, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced another milestone: It had raised $1.25 billion for its U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF, the largest exchange-traded fund in history. The fund is a visceral embodiment of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s assertion to clients that the firm “doesn’t see itself as a passive observer” when it comes to combating climate change.

By Kenneth P. Pucker •. September 13, 2021

Read full article: https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1tkr826880fy2/The-Trillion-Dollar-Fantasy

]]> 75 Private Equity Makes ESG Promises: Their Impact is Often Superficial http://kpp.active-interactive.com/articles/private-equity-makes-esg-promises-their-impact-is-often-superficial/ Mon, 27 Jul 2020 19:54:57 +0000 http://kpp.active-interactive.com/?p=184 Institutional Investor

Alongside Bono, Richard Branson, and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, private equity firm TPG launched the Rise Impact fund in 2016. The offering committed “to deliver positive and sustainable impact” while creating a “top-performing fund.” At the time, Bono remarked that “capitalism is going up on trial, and I think that it’s clear that putting profit before people is a nonsustainable business model.” Bain Capital followed suit, launching its own Double Impact fund, and KKR recently closed a $1.3 billion impact fund.

Private Equity Makes ESG Promises: Their Impact is Often Superficial

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