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March 24, 2008

Rockefeller Foundation Gives $500,000 to Develop 'Social' Stock Market

The Rockefeller Foundation has contributed $500,000 to studying the feasibility of a “social stock exchange” in the United Kingdom, reports The Financial Times.

The market would allow investors to trade shares in projects that seek to preserve the environment, such as clean technology, and that promote health care, aid for the poor, or other social goals.

Such a market could begin next year if a demand exists, the newspaper reports. Rockefeller’s managing director, Antony Bugg-Levine, said, “There is a new class of rich people unhappy with the old binary system of making money with one hand and giving it away with the other.”

He said the foundation chose to test the idea in Britain because it felt the government was supportive of efforts to promote businesses with social missions.

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Monday March 24, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. Well done. That will help a lot. “promote health care, aid for the poor, or other social goals” is great only if the poor really receive the help. Please check out: www.panamaunited.net

   — Miguel Bernard    Mar 25, 10:57 AM    #

2. The Green Stock Exchange
   ————————————

   We are setting up North America’s first social stock exchange connected to a green social network at: http://greensx.com, which will be launched in the Summer of 2008 to begin trading. It will trade shares in social businesses. A social business is a business that makes a profit, but benefits society as well. We have a triple bottom line (economic + social + environmental).

   Since all the listed companies on the exchange are pre-screened, evaluated, and audited according to social and sustainable guidelines set by the exchange, it will make it much easier for green investors to find and support social businesses. The GREENSX provides opportunities for small green Issuers to access public equity capital efficiently, while providing early stage investors, angel investors, and venture capitalists with greater liquidity.

   We have been working on the Green Stock Exchange, even before Muhammad Yunus’s book came out. We have not made any press releases yet, so nobody knows about it yet. It is still in the beta stage testing. Check it out at: http://greensx.com.

   — David Kam    Mar 28, 06:06 PM    #

3. On the CBOT/CME Merger

   On Tuesday, October 17, 2006, Chicago’s two major futures exchanges, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, announced an $8 billion merger. We think the merger is good news for the City.

   We also think the City should impose specific community development goals on the merged entity, much like the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) imposes on banks. When banks merge, CRA regulations require banking authorities to certify that the banks involved do not have a history of discriminating against persons of color or low income persons. I’m not sure the CME or CBOT would pass certification.

   CRA has stimulated billions of dollars of profitable, high social impact lending, provided to underserved communities nationwide. In this way, the Act encourages depository institutions (banks and thrifts) to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate.

   Given this, in exchange for the City’s blessing, the merged entity should be required to help meet the capital needs of small, disadvantaged businesses located in Chicago. To do this, we suggest the Exchange create a Chicago Business Micro Stock Exchange, modeled on the work pioneered by this years’ winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank. Equity capital, or shares in these micro businesses would be traded on a Micro Business Stock Exchange created and managed by the Board and the CME. The Exchange would provide the framework for the provision of small amounts of equity capital to micro businesses in Chicago. To make things easier and to enhance the probability of success, we suggest the initiative focus specifically on disadvantaged businesses operating on the South Side of the City.

   See: http://www.creativeinvest.com/research/CBOTCME.html

   — William Cunningham    Apr 4, 10:23 PM    #

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