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 School of Geography and the Environment

Network

Forthcoming Networks

None currently listed.

Past Networks

Jun102008

Pension Funds: Investing to Build Strong and Sustainable Communities for the Future

  • Venue: June 10, 2008, National Conference at the Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA
  • Co-ordinators: Pension Funds & Urban Revitalization Intitiative, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Havard Law School
  • View Agenda [PDF: 125KB]
Presentations
Dec112007

National Roundtable: Measuring the Social and Environmental Impacts of Community Based Investing

  • Venue: Cambridge, MA
  • Co-ordinators: Pension Funds & Urban Revitalization Intitiative, Pensions & Capital Stewardship Project, Labor & Worklife Program, Havard Law School
  • View Meeting Notes [PDF: 393KB]
  • View Agenda [PDF: 22KB]
Research Papers
Presentations
Dec102007

New Finance of America's Cities Research Symposium

  • Venue: December 10, 2007, Cambridge, MA
  • Co-ordinators: Pension Funds & Urban Revitalization Intitiative, Pensions & Capital Stewardship Project, Labor & Worklife Program, Havard Law School
  • View Agenda [PDF: 34KB]
Research Papers - Session One
Research Papers - Session Two
Research Papers - Session Three
Sep18 - 202007

California Pension Fund Investments: A Golden Opportunity

Jul26 - 272007

National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems NCPERS: Best Practice Pension Fund Investment in America's Cities

  • Venue: July 26-27, 2007, Cambridge, MA
  • Co-ordinators: Professor Gordon L. Clark and Dr Tessa Hebb, Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School, and Oxford University Centre for the Environment.
Principles of Targeted Investing and Best Practice
Programme for Advanced Trustee Studies
ETI Policies and Questions for Discussion
Dec62006

Regional Roundtable on Targeted Investing

Jun72006

Public Pension Fund Investment in Urban Revitalization

Jun52006

Regional Investment Roundtable on Sustainable Job Growth

Oct252005

Pension Funds and Urban Revitalization

  • Venue: October 25, 2005, Hartford's Lyceum


On October 25, 2005 Connecticut Treasurer Denise Nappier and other pension fund leaders came together to discuss how investing in the emerging domestic markets can work in small to mid-size cities across the country. The forum, called Pension Funds and Urban Revitalization, the first of its kind, was held at Hartford's Lyceum, bringing together researchers from Harvard Law School / Oxford University and the Inner City Economic Forum to consider public pension funds' potential role in the revitalization of America's cities.

Nov15 - 162004

ICEF Summit 2004

  • Venue: November 15-16, 2004, at the Waldorf Astoria, New York


Dr Tessa Hebb spoke at the Inner City Economic Forum (ICEF) run by Georgia Murray, Director ICEF, and Michael Porter, Harvard Business School. Tessa Hebb presented the project during the session on:

Increasing Capital Flows to the Inner Cities
ICEF recognizes that the current capital market infrastructure is inadequate to service the full needs of inner city investments. Further, capital providers are starting to accept that investing in inner city markets represents an untapped opportunity. By focusing on increasing capital flows to inner cities, ICEF aims to provide concrete solutions that bridge the gap between capital and inner city firms.

Nov42004

Pension Funds and Urban Revitalization

  • Venue: November 4, 2004, Rockefeller Foundation, New York


The first Pension Funds and Urban Revitalization network meeting was held on November 4, 2004 at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City. The symposium was well attended by more than 20 participants [PDF: 18KB] with fund officials from California, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York in attendance.

The meeting agenda [PDF: 16KB] covered the project goals, the mapping exercise, barriers and strategies to overcome in urban revitalization investing, other initiatives to advance urban economic development, and a strategic plan for the network.

Main Points of Discussion


1. Central question

How to encourage public sector pension funds to develop urban revitalization strategies in their investment portfolio, acknowledging that these strategies are dependent on measurable economic returns?

2. Patterns learned to date

  • Largest funds: undertaken activity to date
  • Smaller funds: potential & possible adopters
  • Mapping exercise and first case study point to real estate as a strong entry asset class. Need to monitor this trend, what urban real estate targeted
  • Initial activity: board driven, usually a champion at this level
  • In some cases sole trustee's (i.e. NY Common) others Board structured
  • Sometimes a legislative component
  • Staff then study, followed by an RFP
  • Consultants seen as partners in process
  • In-state investment opening for urban revitalization


3. Terminology

  • Emerging domestic markets.
  • Investing in under-served capital markets.
  • "A group of people with money who can interpret and deliver on the needs of both government and investors."


4. Challenges

  • What is urban? What is revitalization?
  • Does urban revitalization need to temper the market?
  • Issues of scale, how to match pension funds with partner vehicles
  • High information costs


5. Measuring success

  • Rates of return first objective
  • Show ancillary benefits
  • Private equity returns long time to realize
  • Real estate easier (i.e. units built)