(The New Yorker) As monopolies and other large companies gain increasing control of our daily lives, Khan is Joe Biden’s pick to do something about it. In the spring of 2011, a recent Williams College graduate named Lina Khan interviewed for a job at the Open Markets Program, in Washington, D.C. Open Markets, which was…

(The Atlantic) Social capital is becoming economic capital. Alex Masmej revered Steve Jobs—his favorite shirt was emblazoned with Apples that changed the world: Adam’s, Isaac’s, Steve’s. Masmej dreamed of moving to Silicon Valley to start his own company, but he just didn’t have the money. In April 2020, as the world reeled from the coronavirus…

(Fast Company) If you own stocks, chances are good you have heard the term ESG. It stands for environmental, social, and governance, and it’s a way to laud corporate leaders who take sustainability—including climate change—and social responsibility seriously, and punish those who do not. In less than two decades since a United Nations report drew…

(BCG Henderson Institute) Companies are increasingly embracing sustainable business model innovation (SBM-I) to simultaneously address environmental and societal challenges and create competitive advantage. But those efforts often run into significant constraints stemming from the underlying structure, resource and capability bottlenecks, and other limitations of the broad socio-economic ecosystem in which companies operate. Read more here.

(GreenBiz) Whatever your take was on COP26, a key takeaway at the intersection of capital markets and climate was the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). During the initial days in Glasgow, the IFRS Foundation announced the formation of the new board, an organization meant to develop a global baseline of sustainability disclosures…

(Fast Company) Sam Lessin’s recent article The End of Venture Capital as We Know It has received a lot of attention in the startup community. Lessin argues that a monumental shift in startup investing is coming to fruition as software has already eaten the world, and larger institutions continue to jump into the software venture…

(Pensions & Investments) Asset owners are increasingly putting their weight behind efforts by their current or future general partners to diversify their investment executive ranks. “There has been real change in the last 18 to 24 months, with most asset owners asking venture capital firm executives direct questions at board meetings about diversity and inclusion,”…

(Pensions & Investments) Women are edging their way into the ranks of venture capital executives who can make investments, but the road to getting control of the firm’s checkbook is a long one and often filled with potholes. Over the past two years, the number of female venture capital executives able to make investments —…

(The Guardian) As fossil fuels become more volatile, pensioners may be exposed to greater risk unless their funds divest. In early October, an oil pipeline owned by Amplify Energy spilled into the ocean in southern California. Up to 132,000 gallons of crude oil leaked into the waters off the coast of Orange county, possibly the…

(Responsible Investor) Regulator’s new enforcement division director says that there is ‘nothing new’ in the way it is tackling ESG-related misconduct, referring to 2008 case. Read more here.