This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Quick summary of the US economy: Overall Activity: + Consumer Spending: + Tourism: + Advertising: + Transportation: + Manufacturing: + Housing: Flat Loans: + Ag: mixed Wages: Flat Prices: Flat

Crowdfunding : New SEC Rules Thursday, February 20, 2014 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM (EST ) Washington, DC This seminar will summarize the JOBS Act and current developments. Henry Burger will discuss Real Estate Crowdfunding. We will have copies of The JOBS Act: Crowdfunding for Small Businesses and Startups for sale. See:  http://www.amazon.com/The-JOBS-Act-Crowdfunding-Businesses/dp/143024755X Finally, we will discuss the following developments: http://crowdfundingnow.blogspot.com/2014/01/strategies-7-keys-to-crowdfunding.html http://crowdfundingnow.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-crowdfund-5-crowdfunding-tips.html http://crowdfundingnow.blogspot.com/2013/06/successful-crowdfunding.html https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1XNaKgws4wJTgtEeLt4BiOFyLJx-f1ARLIH5KB56Vf6g/viewform Register at:  https://crowdfundclass.eventbrite.com Thanks! Related articles Crowdfunding: New SEC Rules Alabama Takes Pragmatic Approach To Intrastate Crowdfunding What do the new crowdfundin...

Under Dodd/Frank,  " six federal financial regulatory agencies – the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency –" must, by law, develop standards and an approach to assessing the diversity policies and practices of entities they regulate. This means looking at diversity at all banks, investment firms, and credit unions. All of them. Each of these agencies will develop a way to determine if the policies of the entities they regulate are fair, or at least, inclusive. They are asking for comments on this. I suggest you comment, and have even drafted proposed comment text for you at:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dVF9yIbI5SU_QkiwuNFg3sOkImTdXnUk5J6-pEm0ZM/edit?usp=sharing Comments are due by Feb. 7, 2014. Submit them via email by going to: Co...

Performance of the Diversity Fund , 4/19/11 to 1/12/14 Related articles Views on Diversity Diversity - not just a Business Case Difference Between Diversity and Inclusion Importance of inclusivity and diversity Residents of more ethnically diverse neighbourhoods actually reported higher levels of social cohesion Top 10 Reasons Diversity Is Good For The Boardroom

Yesterday, I testified on the Sustainable DC Omnibus Act of 2013 (Bill number: B20-573). According to the Mayor, the Bill will: "1. Require electric and gas utilities to provide aggregated whole building (energy consumption and environmental performance) data to building owners and managers electronically to facilitate their ease of reporting required benchmarking data..on a monthly basis 2. Require sellers to transfer all benchmarking data at time of building sale. This will eliminate a 10% fluctuation in buildings reporting data. 3. Create a broad public engagement venue that will allow District residents and engaged stakeholders to participate in an open process each quarter that allows for information sharing and program examination… 4. Prohibit..polystyrene containers for food services. 5. Provide support for an Environmental Literacy Program. 6. Establish a Radon Contractor database. 7. Require the Mayor create a responsive Apiculture regulatory environment. 8. Re...

The video below is of testimony before the DC City Council on the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act of 2013. The bill requires "the divestment, and prohibit(s) the investment, of public funds in the stocks, securities, or other obligations of certain companies which hold the largest fossil fuel reserves and..provide(s) for the identification of companies with the largest fossil fuel reserves." As a recent Forbes  article  noted, investor concerns about fossil fuels are growing. Related articles Yale students vote in favour of fossil fuels divestment Fossil Fuel Divestment Dominos Argument Against Divestment Dutch town first in Europe to plan fossil fuel divestment

Fintech for Underbanked: The Next M&A Hot Spot? by   Robert Barba NOV 7, 2013 5:06pm ET Think the onset of consumer protections laws stymied M&A for companies who serve the underbanked ? You're wrong. Between July 2012 and June 2013, there were 85 investment banking transactions involving companies in the financial technology and specialty lending realms that focus on consumers with low-to-moderate incomes, according to a study released  Wednesday . The authors are the Center for Financial Services Innovation and Core Innovation Capital, a $50 million venture capital fund that specializes in the underbanked market. The data show the acquisitions, initial public offerings and equity investments had a combined value of $5.2 billion in capital. The study, which was sponsored by Morgan Stanley, was the authors' first on this topic, so it is unclear if the activity in the year leading up to  June 30  rose or fell from past years. That kind of...