This is an investing/finance course. The course provides an overview of the Private Capital and Impact Investment markets including 1) the development of the social venture capital industry 2) an overview of the private equity industry as it relates to ESG, environmental, social and governance, factors and 3) the development of impact investment and how the private capital model is used for positive environmental and social impact. The course is taught from the perspective of using selected financial criteria institutional investors, pension funds, endowments and foundations and family offices would utilize in their day-to-day operations, with an emphasis on factors used to make investment decisions and the role of Private Capital investments in their respective Impact Investment portfolio. There are also non-financial criteria, for example, climate risk, environmental sustainability, minority representation on boards, gender equality, poverty reduction, and even the potential to create social good, that will also be examined. This course is geared toward students interested in working in the investment industry - whether directly, as an asset manager/investor, consultant/advisor or private individual, or indirectly as an entrepreneur or a recipient of impact investment capital. The class makes extensive use of cases and class participation is an integral part of the course – it is not lecture based, so the expectation is that students prepare ahead of time and come to class prepared to discuss the different topics. Cases will require rigorous financial and investment analysis, building on and extending skills acquired in previous coursework, by real-world experience, and mostly by being willing to step outside of one’s comfort zone and tackle completely new subject matter. To be clear, most students taking CMI4I have no prior background, so the initial learning curve is quite steep – hopefully, the result is worth it. The outcome is that ESG and activist investment is a substantial new aspect of global investing. Recommended Pre-course Preparation: While not required, if you want to maximize your learning experience in CMI4I Online, then it is strongly recommended that you do two pre-work short online courses as background, before the class starts. If you already have some subject matter expertise, then you probably don’t need these courses. The suggested courses are available free of charge through The New School Library: (1) Financial Accounting Foundations and (2) Finance for Non-Financial Managers. If you have taken Elements of Finance (NURP 5003), you are adequately prepared. If you would like a head-start on the CMI4I coursework, you can spend a couple of hours on the following: https://bit.ly/2vVaf2A. These courses are part of a free database called LinkedIn Learning: http://guides.library.newschool.edu/c.php?g=274519. If you have questions about another course you would like to take before starting CMI4I, then please feel free to connect with Professor Allison and ask his opinion on whether the selected course is an appropriate choice -- allisonc@newschool.edu.

Capital Markets and Investing for Impact (“CMI4I”) is the intersection of the public and private capital markets with a relatively new term called impact investing. Impact investing is an emerging field to describe the practice of filtering an investor’s intention through the lens of long-term social and environmental value creation. It is sometimes referred to as “blended value”, in which the best aspects of traditional investing, philanthropy, and collective action are blended together to create results with long-term public benefits. To achieve a measurable social return, impact investors will look for businesses that have a strong social mission embedded in their business operations. Thus, the demand for “market-ready” social enterprises has grown. The first module of the course will provide a rigorous introduction to the capital markets – the part of the financial system concerned with raising capital by dealing in shares, bonds, and other long-term investments. The second module provides a rigorous introduction to the two components that make up impact investing -- intentionality (as the intention to create social impact from investing) and impact measurement (as the integration of accountability and transparency at all levels of the investment decision). The last module brings the two fields together. This course provides the background necessary for participation in many of the school’s other finance courses and labs. Students should also be able to use the subject matter from this course in the job-search or internship-search process.