Mapping the many opportunities to use finance for impact at Berkeley
by Katharine Hawthorne, Haas MBA 2020
Berkeley is an incredible place to study finance for impact. Haas recently launched the Sustainable and Impact Finance Initiative to coordinate existing activities and further develop Berkeley’s strength in this area. Whether you’re interested in ESG and sustainable finance or impact investing, there are courses, clubs, and competitions for you. Here’s an attempt to map the many impact finance offerings at Haas.
Sustainable and ESG Investing
Sustainable investing considers environmental and social impacts in the public markets. “ESG” investing refers to environmental, social, governance criteria and involves an increasing data-driven approach to incorporating non-financial information into investment decisions. Haas has been a leader in this space for the last decade, with HSRIF, a $3 million student-managed fund. Check out this recent Wall Street Journal feature on the fund. Haas also enjoys a close relationship with the Sustainable Accounting Standards Bureau (SASB), which has pioneered the concept of financial materiality.
Haas also has a strong track record of sending teams to the Kellogg Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge. Blue Forest Conservation was founded by Haas MBAs following their 2015 win at the competition.
Courses:
- Haas Sustainable Investment Fund (SIF)
- Sustainable Portfolio Construction
- Financial Information Analysis
- Asset Management
- Investment Strategies and Styles
Events:
Centers:
- Sustainable and Impact Finance Initiative
- Center for Responsible Business (for CSR and sustainability perspectives)
Clubs:
Competitions:
Impact Investing
Impact investing is focused in private markets and seeks measurable social and/or environmental outcomes alongside financial return. Haas has developed a robust pathway for students interested in focusing on impact investing, starting with a one-unit fall semester course for first years taught by Adair Morse, building into sourcing and diligence in the spring with the extracurricular previously known as “HIIN” (Haas Impact Investing Network) now institutionalized as a class. Additional opportunities for applied learning include the Berkeley Haas Social Venture Fund and the Impact Investing Practicum. Poets and Quants featured the Impact Investing Practicum’s launch in 2018, and here’s an article from the Haas newsroom about the Berkeley Impact Venture Partners.
There’s a strong network of Haas alumni in impact investing, including Better Ventures, launched by Wes Selke, and Circulate Capital founded by Rob Kaplan.
Courses:
- Impact Finance and Entrepreneurship
- Impact Investing Essentials (formerly HIIN)
- Berkeley Venture Impact Partners (formerly Berkeley Haas Social Venture Fund)
- Impact Investing Practicum
- New Venture Finance
- Social Impact Metrics
Events:
Centers:
- Sustainable and Impact Finance Initiative
- Center for Social Sector Leadership (for venture philanthropy & social entrepreneurship perspectives)
Clubs:
Competitions:
