Vibeka Mair produces another useful missive from London, this time looking at how BAML is scoping the US market while the iconic Globe Theatre which sits near the original site of the Shakespearean icon on London’s South Bank is looking at a SIB to raise funds for expansion…
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Scopes Out US SIB Market
Vibeka Mair – Responsible Investor
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and impact investment firm Social Finance Inc. have identified a series of potential investment opportunities in social impact bonds for military veterans in the US, in the latest sign of burgeoning interest in the sector.
The structures could address employment and wellness, chronic health, and veterans’ homelessness, according to a joint report.
The 37-page report, Improving outcomes for veterans, includes input from the US Department of Veteran Affairs and the US Department of Defense, and assesses the viability of using social impact bonds (SIBs), known as pay-for-success (PFS) in US.
It concludes that there are three “strong opportunities” where PFS could play a role: helping unemployed veterans aged between 18-40 with mental health problems; home-based care for the over 65s with a chronic disease; and housing support for homeless female veterans.
The report reflects a growing interest in PFS from the bank’s clients and is endorsed by its head of corporate responsibility, Andrew Plepler, and its head of global wealth & retirement solutions, Andy Sieg.
In 2013, Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised $13.5m from its high-net-worth and institutional clients to fund a PFS programme in New York helping former prisoners find employment.
To Be Or Not To Be? Iconic Shakespeare’s Globe Hopes To Appeal To Social Investors
Elizabeth Anderson – Daily Telegraph
As Britain recovers from recession, social enterprises are increasingly being seen as a way to alleviate society’s troubles.
Promoted by the Government in the past few years, Britain has developed a thriving social sector, and the Government estimates that one in five businesses say they have a social mission at their heart.
Now officials hope that UK participants can work with US business leaders. Seventeen UK firms involved in social enterprise are currently on a three-day trip to New York, organised by the Cabinet Office, to boost links between the two countries.
Shakespeare’s Globe, one of the companies on the trade mission, is in the early stages of preparations for a £5m “social impact” bond that will help finance a new library, archive and research centre at its theatre site on the South Bank of the Thames in London.