As crowdfunding continues to mature into a platform for raising investment capital, investors may feel that that they need more information to be sure they’re making prudent decisions. Crowdcheck works with companies seeking funding to compile due diligence and disclosure reports that may put your mind at ease. Their blog is a great place for entrepreneurs to stay current on the latest regulatory rulings and interpretations, and their list of crowdfunding platform partners is a valuable starting point for both investors and entrepreneurs.
The SEC has just updated a long-standing investment regulation in ways that will make it somewhat easier for small companies to raise investment capital from all investors (i.e. not just “accredited” investors). The Locavesting website offers a good overview of the changes; for more detail, see this overview from Crowdcheck, a company that offers disclosure and transparency tools for investors and entrepreneurs and tracks the emergence of investment-oriented crowdfunding. While the changes will reduce some of the compliance burden for small companies and opens up the possibility of using social media to spread the word, it does involve some significant federal and state oversight.
This is not the long-awaited SEC Crowdfunding rule, which continues to languish somewhere deep inside the SEC’s rule-making labyrinth.
Michael Kramer’s 45 minute television interview with Jay Fidell of Think Tech Hawaii covers the core themes of The Resilient Investor as well as the sustainable, responsible, and impact investment approach used by Natural Investments.
Michael Kramer’s Sustainable Shareholder column at GreenBiz.com provides an overview of how resilience is replacing sustainability as a core skill set:
Scott Cooney of Important Media and producer of the Sustainability Unconference in Honolulu wrote a nice Triple Pundit piece about the book and conducted this on-site interview with Michael:
A nationwide, non-profit resource center that has created in-depth training programs to educate local investors and business owners in the nuts and bolts of creating local investing networks in their regions. In addition to the free training guides, LIRC hosts forums for local investors and entrepreneurs, and a nationwide directory of local investing groups (already featuring over 30 groups from coast to coast). Visit their website.
The Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS, pronounced “gears”) is a system used to assess the social and environmental impact of companies and funds in developed and emerging markets. It uses a ratings and analytics approach similar to Morningstar’s investment ratings and Capital IQ’s financial analytics. Run by B Lab, GIIRS provides a series of tools that impact investors can use to aid them in making intelligent impact investing decisions. B Analytics, a tool launched in late 2014, is a customizable platform used to measure, benchmark and report on impact. Visit website.
US SIF is the SRI industry’s trade organization; here you’ll find both recent performance history and portfolio screens for over 150 US mutual funds offered by US SIF member firms. See chart.
Cutting Edge Capital is a collaboration among several leading evolutionary economy visionaries providing pioneering financing strategies for socially oriented businesses. that create possibilities of raising funds from both wealthy and retail investors. They also develop strategies to help businesses and organizations create and use capital market tools such as investment funds, secondary markets and market-based regulatory strategies. Visit their website.
This recent and relatively in-depth article (January 2015) offers a great look at the promise and excitement of impact investing: “Bannick says that if you picture a graph of the capital invested every year in the United States, it would look like a lopsided barbell: on one end, tens of trillions of dollars seeking the highest return possible; on the other, nearly $45 billion of philanthropic money seeking no return whatsoever. In the middle, very little. ‘We need to fill in that capital curve,’”he says. One potentially viable pool: high net-worth individuals. The 127 people to date who have signed the Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge, promising half of their money to philanthropic causes, have a net worth of around $600 billion. The Forbes listing of the richest 400 Americans alone totaled just over $2 trillion in 2013. ‘The pools of capital are absolutely massive,” says Bannick. “And while some may still be looking to maximize their investments, a lot of these folks would be willing to invest and get a more modest return, perhaps, while having a fabulous social impact.” Read the article.
Several new crowdfunding lending platforms have made it possible for non-accredited investors to help fund clean energy projects; the loans can often be relatively small, and are repaid with interest. This article profiles several of the early entrants into this exciting new field; be sure to do a fresh web search to find new options as well. Some raise most of their money from accredited investors, or do crowdfunding only in some states, though most are eager for the new SEC rules that will open up crowdfunding opportunities more widely. Read article.
