This article has first posted here on July, 18 2017. Sharing it again.
ETF also known as Exchange Traded Funds are on a meteoric rise globally. According to a report by PWC, ETF’s in the US is going to grow to $5.9 trillion by 2021, a whopping 23% cumulative annual growth compared to $1.6 trillion in Europe and $560 billion in Asia. ETF’s are passive investment products which track an index. Exchange Traded Funds are linked to different asset classes like equities and commodities. In the US, S&P 500 would be a broad equity index so an ETF linked to S&P 500 would replicate this index. Replication here means it would track the index. ETF would not outperform the underlying index i.e. S&P 500 but rather deliver similar returns. Let’s understand a few concepts here. Continue reading Exchange Traded Funds: Rise of Passive Investing…Series Begins
The Innovative Finance Revolution is one of the best reports on innovation in social finance. Social finance was evolved over the years and with philanthropy and corporate social responsibility evolving through evidence-based social impact, attracting private capital has been imperative for sustainable work in the social sector. I read this report while I was in Seattle and found it to be one of the most comprehensive reports on different projects and modes of financing used by various foundations, multilateral organizations and nonprofits in implementing sustainable social projects in emerging and poor economies or sustainable infrastructure projects in Americas. From social impact bonds, green bonds to vaccine immunization bonds, report chronicles articles by leading experts and practitioners in developmental finance. UN estimates $50 to $70 tr of capital to implement Sustainable Development Goals over the next 25 years, a huge task which can only be achieved by attracting private capital. Rockefeller Foundation is the world’s leading foundation and a bellwether in innovating impact capital in philanthropy. To achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals, a gap of approx. $2.5 tr annual funding gap is required from the $200 tr pool of private capital. 
I have known Gayatri for sometime and when I came to know about her new book, titled Winning Strategies For Parents, I knew I had to read it although I am a bachelor. To begin with, Winning Strategies For Parents , is a very detailed, insightful, comprehensive and hands on work on parenting your children until preschool.
I am presently reading, The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs which includes a foreword by Bono, one of the greatest musicians of our time. From I still haven’t found what I am looking for to Staring at the Sun, Bono of U2 group is a quintessential pop and rock musician, known among other things to be a great philanthropist and humanitarian.The End of Poverty gives an in-depth analysis of the various factors that led countries on different paths to prosperity and poverty. Jeffrey Sachs, an imminent development economist, shares both practical and pragmatic overview of international development and policies pursued in eradicating poverty. A detailed review would also come up. The other book which deals with eradicating poverty and on my reading list is Banker To The Poor, by Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank. Dr. Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, revolutionized micro-finance in Bangladesh and is known as father of modern micro-finance. 