Al Gore starts sustainable growth fund firm

[wicket]

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2004/11/08/al_gore_starts_sustainable_growth_fund_firm/

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and a previous chief executive at Goldman Sachs Asset Management have launched an investment firm to seek out companies taking a responsible stance on big global issues like climate change. London-based Generation Investment Management has been set up to tap growing demand for an investment style which can generate returns by blending traditional equity research with a focus on more intangible non-financial factors such as social and environmental responsibility and corporate governance.

"This new approach is designed to serve people who want to integrate sustainable returns with traditional equity analysis," Gore said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

Gore will be chairman of Generation, with David Blood -- previously chief executive at Goldman's fund arm -- as managing partner.

Generation's other founders include Mark Ferguson, a former co-head of pan-European research also at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, who will be chief operating officer, and Peter Harris, a former campaign manager to ex-U.S. President Bill Clinton, who will be president of Generation in the United States.

[Democat]

1. What about Gore's TV news network?

We need a left leaning alternative to Fox soon!

[d_b]

3. and until we have it...

[NYCGirl]

7. It's NOT a news network. Link inside:

http://www.indtv.tv/index.html

[Laelth]

12. I like it.

It's a start, but we need a full-blown television network with its own news channel (a la Fox) in order to just begin to compete. The R's already have ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN in their pocket too, and the great irony is that the R's still attack these networks for being too liberal.

We need a lot more than a young-adult network. But it's a start!

-Laelth

[Maat]

2. Now, that's the way to be a leader, Mr. Gore.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Wonderful!

Thanks, Al!

Al Gore is going to be the new Jimmy Carter. :-)

[Straight Shooter]

5. Excellent choice of name, I like it.

:thumbsup:

[mulethree]

6. London based private fund linked with Goldman?

smells funny to me.

The language is mainly long-term emerging markets investment with a few references to carbon and social responsibility. Sounds like eastern european companies that won't loose money from Kyoto?

[54anickel]

11. I am a bit skeptical. It sounds great, but I'm a little distrustful of

both parties these days and the marketsin general. There are plenty of socially responsible funds available out there with decent track records he could have lent his name to. To have a fund who's president will Clinton's former campaign manager - I just don't know. Doesn't "feel" right.

Seems like a marketing scheme to get skeptical Dems like me into the market. :shrug:

[ldf]

14. i have complete and total trust

in al gore.

period.

[mithnanthy]

20. Al Gore...

I also trust Al Gore completely.

[ibegurpard]

8. Excellent!

Socially responsible investment is a great way to reward companies with a conscience.

[VegasWolf]

9. No way I'm putting my money in a dollar based fund.

[mulethree]

13. not really

It's not like a mutual fund. It's a private equity fund.

The SEC won't let them sell you shares, in the US, unless you're a 'sophisticated investor' meaning you make over $200K a year and sign the thing saying you realize it's not SEC regulated, isn't required to do all the SEC disclosures and only professional investors should be getting involved.

They'll hedge currency fluctuations for the whole fund (International emerging markets = not first-world companies), and your private banker will take care of hedging the sterling or dollars that the fund pays.

Probably a minimum buy-in like 25 or 50K+.

[VegasWolf]

16. I'll do my own hedging and I want my money euro based. I do

a lot of day trading and the thing I still working on is how to
play the US Stock market with euro based funds. Money is not
a problem.

[WhiteTara]

21. how do you buy foreign currency?

I have some money that I don't want to see eaten away, but
have never done this before.  Would you mind telling me how to
begin? Thanks

[wicket]

10. kick

:kick:

[Cocoa]

15. David Blood and Al Gore

Blood and Gore Investments, inc.

[MasonJar]

17. I love Al Gore. He and John Kerry are true statesmen. No matter

how rich and powerful Bush gets he is still nothing but a small time shill. He has never amounted to bee buzz unless he is cheating and stealing.

[SoCalDem]

18. How "nice" for him..

:(

what about US??? remember?? you were gonna fight for us..

[Carla in Ca]

22. I wonder if there is any connection to this

venture and *'s plan to privatize Social Security.

[leesa]

19. Yah! Right. Where's the TV network? What happened to the promise that

he would be working night and day to defeat Bush. Hardly heard a squeak out of him.

[0rganism]

23. Gore, of all politicians, ought to know that Growth is NOT Sustainable

Hey, Al, what happened to "Earth in the Balance"? I thought you were starting to get the point. Oh well.

Professor Bartlett is right. Humanity's greatest failing is its inability to understand the exponential function.