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  • Foundation and sovereign wealth fund delegates gather at the Business of Clean Energy in Alaska conference

    May 19, 2009

    Lisa Hagerman, Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

    The Business of Clean Energy in Alaska conference took place this week in Anchorage to showcase the opportunities available for Alaska in building an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy infrastructure. The conference was organized by the Alaska Renewable Energy Project with sponsorship from, among others, the Alaska Conservation Foundation. The two-day event brought together close to 200 business leaders, state legislators, venture capitalists and investors from Alaska and across the country. A panel on the Alaska Permanent Fund included: Pat Galvin, Commissioner, State of Alaska Department of Revenue, and on the Board of the Alaska Permanent Fund, Hege Eliassen, Counselor of Financial Affairs at the Royal Norwegian Embassy representing the Norwegian Government Sovereign Wealth Fund-Global, and Lisa Hagerman from the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment with examples of other investors across foundations, public pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds. Presentations will soon be available at Renewable Energy Alaska.

    Pat Galvin gave an overview of the structure and current asset allocation (See current asset allocation distribution on website) of the Permanent fund that as of May 2009 holds $30.4 billion in assets (unaudited). The Fund was established in the 1970s by constitutional amendment in which, “At least 25 percent of all mineral lease rentals, royalties, royalty sales proceeds, federal mineral revenue-sharing payments and bonuses received by the state be placed in a permanent fund, the principal of which may only be used for income-producing investments." In 1982, the Legislature established the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation to manage fund investments. A six-member, governor-appointed Board of Trustees oversees APFC, in which Pat Galvin sits on the board. APFC is a state-owned corporation, based in Juneau, that also manages other funds designated by law, such as the Alaska Mental Health Trust Fund cash assets.

    The discussion moderated by Steve Lindbeck, Alaska Public Communications, shared examples across Norway’s Global Fund, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds with $300 billion in assets, that maintains a long-term investment perspective and in April 2009 after evaluation of existing ethical guidelines the government decided to consider environmental, social, and governance factors be integrated to an even greater extent in all aspects of the fund's management. A recent NYT article (May 14, 2009)  highlights the virtues of Norway’s long-term investment strategy as they can take on illiquid long-term positions given their future liabilities structure. The intent of the panel was to show examples of other institutional investors in the US and overseas as a reference for the possibility of using the Alaska Permanent Fund to help secure financing needed for Alaska-based projects. The discussion started the conversation and was timely as the Alaska Permanent Fund held a public board meeting to review the fund’s investment asset allocation policy the following two-days May 20-21. See may 20 board meeting agenda.
     

    posted 2:01PM 05/19/2009 by Lisa Hagerman

  • EIRIS Foundation research shows European foundations should consider ESG risks to safeguard assets

    May 16, 2009

    Lisa Hagerman, Friday, May 16th, 2009

    UK based EIRIS Foundation and its independent research arm, released new research this week showing that trusts and foundations should re-think their investment analysis and examine ESG issues such as how climate change and corporate governance pose financial risks and opportunities. The report authored by Sam Collin, Charity Adviser at the EIRIS Foundation highlights 8 steps that trusts and foundations should take in managing investments in a sustainable way:
    1) Agree on position in responsible investment
    2) Research investment manager’s expertise and practice on ESG integration
    3) Include ESG integration in the investment mandate
    4) Join collaborative initiatives, such as the Carbon Disclose Project
    5) Vote shares on ESG related issues
    6) Engage with companies directly or via investment managers
    7) Invest in sustainability-themed funds such as greentech, microfinance or timber
    8) Invest in responsible investment funds that use ESG integration
     

    posted 3:08PM 05/16/2009 by Lisa Hagerman

  • Mission investing leaders and other foundations gather in Atlanta

    May 05, 2009

    Lisa Hagerman, Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

    The More for Mission Campaign Reception was held in Atlanta on May 5th at the Council on Foundations Annual Meeting. We were pleased with the turnout from our Leadership Committee members and other interested foundations wanting to learn more about the practice of mission investing and network with leaders in the field. Doug Stamm, CEO, Meyer Memorial Trust gave opening remarks and talked about the momentum being built for the More for Mission Campaign and encouraged foundations to join the Campaign and learn from tools available such as quarterly conference calls with thought leaders on trends in the industry.

    Anne Mosle, VP Programs, at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation talked about their mission-driven investing (MDI) pilot investment program in which it has earmarked $100 million of its endowment assets for a pilot program in mission-driven investing. Of the $100 million, $25 million has been designated to mission-driven investments in southern Africa, while the balance – $75 million – will be used for investments in the United States. The Kellogg Foundation’s MDI criteria includes: how investments fit with the foundation’s mission objectives, leverage of the Kellogg Foundation’s programming investments – particular focus will be given to innovative, scalable new approaches to deploying capital for impact vs. more traditional mission investments (e.g. low interest loans), magnitude of potential impact, minority/gender partnership opportunity. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is aggressively committing capital and will soon issue a press release on new commitments. Their website has several learning tools for other foundations.

    A working group gathered around rural investing opportunities that included representatives from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Mary Babcock Reynolds, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
     

    posted 3:13PM 05/05/2009 by Lisa Hagerman

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