Institutional Investors and Sustainable Capitalism Seminar

Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, and other beneficial institutional investors control more than $100 trillion in investable assets. These funds may be beneficial in nature, they exist to secure a promised social benefit, but they are also the base of our modern capitalist system. They are responsible for funding industries that Stanford students will seek to work in (or with), such as venture capital, hedge funds, private equity, or other professional investors. As such, if we are to unlock financial capital to fund meaningful solutions to societies problems, such as climate change, these investors must allocate capital to these projects. But few people understand why these organizations exist, how they operate or invest, and what the implications of their decisions are for society and the planet. This course aims to equip the Stanford community with a deep understanding of beneficial institutional investors. The course will be given in a seminar format and be broken down into three modules: 1) Why beneficial investors exist; 2) How they invest their capital; and 3) How their investing affects the sustainability of modern capitalism.