More news from Chicago – a city whose parlous finances need all the help they can get.
Meanwhile, not quite on PFS per se but for those readers trying to put a face to the name of these newsletters, here I am discussing: The mystery of TTIP with News.Markets TV the other day…
Millennials, Women & The Challenge Of Chicago
Editorial Board – Chicago Sun Times
For at least a couple of decades, a common complaint in Chicago — it fueled Chuy Garcia’s campaign for mayor — is that the Loop is coddled while whole neighborhoods are forsaken, that money and opportunity flow to the favored few.
A significant move to redirect some of that flow, to support worthy city-building endeavors now starved for investment, was announced Monday by the Chicago Community Trust, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Calvert Foundation. The three big hitters are establishing a $100 million impact investment fund to support a broad range of enterprises in Chicago, from affordable housing to energy conservation to small business creation.
Individuals and corporations wishing to increase their “impact investing” — putting their money where their heart and conscience lie — will be invited to buy bonds priced as low as $20.
This is hardly a new trend, at least not on Wall Street, but one that’s picking up steam. Firms such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch have begun issuing social impact bonds, which offer a competitive rate of return, to address issues such as job training and prison recidivism. Now, with the Benefit Chicago fund, an entire city has been defined as a good-deed target.
What’s driving the trend?