Reinvent Finance to Improve Global Quality of Life

How do we reinvent finance to better facilitate impact investing that will empower a global middle class?
David Chen, founder and CEO of Equilibrium Capital Group, lead a roundtable of top talent from the financial world to discuss how huge pools of capital are on the verge of a massive shift that will enable them to fulfill basic needs around the world—which Chen termed “Basic Needs 3.0”. Impact investing, which tries to find ways to make a positive impact on the planet while realizing returns, was once an experimental niche and is now rapidly entering the mainstream. Chen made a compelling case that all the pieces are in place for mainstream capital to become aligned with long-term goals for improving life on the planet. The rest of the high-powered participants in this roundtable took that position as a starting point and talked about ways to accelerate this transition. By accurately assessing the value of resources and people, and by empowering a global middle class, we can shift to more sustainable technologies and energy sources. Our roundtable explored the challenges, potential models and means by which we might get there.