Corporations and companies have a responsibility to step up and play an active role in improving our society as we work towards pandemic recovery
Social impact investing is a foundational movement taking hold around the world. Broadly defined, impact investing is described as investing capital to create social impact in a way that also engenders financial returns. Done well, it uncovers and accelerates successful investments that drive positive societal change and, at the same time, provides attractive rates of return to investors.
Impact investors actively seek out companies that make the positive achievement of social outcomes their core focus, through solutions that include improving the environment; addressing race, gender and wealth equity gaps; or delivering healthcare to disadvantaged populations. Social impact funds create pools of capital that provide market-rate and below-market-rate investments in fields with pressing social needs, such as education, green technology, and community development.
Not surprisingly, given the challenges facing our world today, both long term and those more recent, such as COVID-19, the social impact field is exploding. According to the Global Impact Investing Network 2020 survey, social impact investing assets under management at 1,720 organizations worldwide totaled US$715 billion at the end of 2019.
Yet in Canada, we lag behind our southern neighbours. Specifically, Canada’s total of $14.75 billion under management, according to the Responsible Investment Association (RIA), is less than one third of what one would reasonably expect given that we are one tenth the size of the U.S.
One barrier to growth has been a common misconception that investing for societal good is another form of charity and that it means sacrificing financial returns. This is not true—and it’s critical we all understand this point. In fact, numerous studies, including those by the RIA, demonstrate conclusively that social impact investors’ financial returns on impact investments overwhelmingly meet or exceed expectations.
Blair Miller, managing partner at TELUS Impact Ventures
Today, corporations and companies have a responsibility to step up and play an active role in improving our society as we work towards pandemic recovery. This is not the time to hoard capital; it’s about working together as the Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) community, taking accountability and sharing the duty of investing in rejuvenating the economy and bettering our communities.
CVC firms are investment teams embedded within large organizations that invest in emerging startups and growth stage companies. What’s interesting about CVCs is that they traditionally have invested in companies and start-ups that only drive a financial return to their core business. Impact investing however adds an additional layer: a financial return and a positive social impact. For example, Salesforce Ventures has launched two impact funds in the past few years: a $50 million Impact Fund in 2017 focused on investing in innovative companies that improve the world, and most recently a second $100 million Impact Fund in 2020.
At TELUS, we’ve found that it is possible to make money and improve social outcomes—and that they are often perfectly in sync. This strategy is aligned with the vision of our leadership team and our CEO Darren Entwistle, whose mission it is to ensure TELUS’ place as the most giving company in the world. Our new $100 million corporate impact investment fund, the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, is the next step in this commitment.
As many venture funds will attest, some of the most attractive investment areas these days include digital healthcare, agriculture technology, environmental solutions, and solutions that further social and economic inclusion, which perfectly align with an impact investing mindset and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Similar to like-minded investors across Canada, we are looking to accelerate amazing and innovative work being done to address the needs of our communities today, and to be a significant driver of our economy in the future. We are pursuing catalytic capital investments in companies delivering these solutions over the next few years, where success in finding and funding these solutions will continue to be materially improved by making investment decisions through an active social impact lens.
We see the future, with technologies such as 5G and AI, as being even more conducive to the impact investing field. As corporate investors, we need to be front and centre, applying our corporate scale and reach, our investment discipline, and ultimately the resourcefulness and creativity of our country’s growing entrepreneurial community to make great things happen.
By investing both with profit and purpose in mind, we believe more Canadian corporations can play a major role in delivering both the critical innovation that our economy needs to thrive in a post-COVID-19 world, and improved social fabric to benefit all Canadians in every community across our great nation.
Created by Telus
Blair Miller is managing partner, TELUS Impact Ventures; Jill Schnarr is Chief Social Innovation Officer, TELUS.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
