iTWireTV Interview: Barry Palte explains the benefits of impact investing in dis...

Tuesday, 21 December 2021 17:43

iTWireTV Interview: Barry Palte explains the benefits of impact investing in disruptive tech

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt

GUEST INTERVIEW: Impact investment is the art of sustainable investing and achieving positive social and private investment outcomes - a win/win situation proven by investment expert Barry Palte, who says social impact and leading investment returns are not mutually exclusive!

Barry Palte. A global investment expert of over 35 years, with a primary focus on sustainable investing and achieving positive social and private investment outcomes through his private investment platform, Barry is eminently and impressively qualified as a leader in this space, producing results that aren't just good for the investor, but for people and the planet.

His company, EQ Capital Partners invests in four main areas: Food and Agriculture, Social Infrastructure, Healthcare and Biotech, and the Circular Economy.

Barry founded EQ Capital Partners in 1999 after a distinguished corporate and institutional career, which include serving on the executive committee of MLC’s Wholesale Funds Management Business, Australia’s third largest fund manager, serving as the head of Strategy and M&A for the funds management and insurance businesses of Commonwealth Bank (Australia’s largest bank) in both Australia and Asia and as Global Chairman of the International Association of Investment Bankers – recently renamed Orion International Advisors (a global network of investment banks with member firms in USA, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Japan, India, Brazil, China and Australia), where he is now Emeritus Chairman.

He also previously served on the Chairman’s Council for the Australia China Research Institute which was founded by the ex-Foreign Minister of Australia, while his current roles also include being:

• Director and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee of GPN Vaccines
• Chief Investment Officer for Contour Group
• Global Advisory Board member for MustGrow
• Strategic Investment Advisor to the CEO of Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation (WNAC)
• Lead Global judge in food / agtech / water for the 2021 finals of the XTC Extreme Tech Challenge
• An invited member of Top Tier Impact (TTI), a global members-only community for investors, entrepreneurs and professionals focused on solving contemporary critical issues
• Advisory board member of the JC Happiness Charity Foundation, 
• And an invited member of the Global Investment Leaders Club, a private group of global investors (including family offices, funds and institutions) who co-invest as partners in global opportunities.

Barry's credentials are clearly impeccable, and he clearly knows the investment and banking industries inside and out, with his global relationships and team providing a powerful platform to generate superb investment returns while managing risk and delivering social outcomes which map explicitly to Sustainable Development Goals.

Barry explains his passion for impact investing is reflected in his focus on investing in, and working with, disruptive technology companies and projects which have a major impact on:

1. Health of People
2. Health of Planet

He also holds a first class honours business degree from the University of Cape Town, where he was a multiple scholarship holder, and is also a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in London.

So, to discover what impact investing means in practice, what inspired Barry to be interested in impact investing, examples of the concrete results Barry has been able to achieve, and much more, we spoke with Barry in an extended video interview that is embedded directly below, after which is a summary of the topics we spoke about, ending with another video interview Barry conducted with Australian streaming news service, Ticker.

• I started by introducing Barry, and welcoming him to the program
• We then moved onto the obvious next question - what is impact investing, and where did this trend come from?
• We then discussed Barry's principles of investing in disruptive technologies that better the health of people and the health of the planet, and the four areas EQ Capital Partners invests in, as well as some examples of the companies Barry has invested in, in each of these areas.
• We then spoke about MustGrow, a Canadian company that has created bio-pesticides and bio-herbicides, the results the company has achieved, and how Barry discovered the opportunity
• With MustGrow being a bio-herbicide, and with the family home dealing with a decades-old bamboo infestation, I cheekily asked whether MustGrow might be able to help my mother (and myself!) solve this problem, although bamboo is not one of the areas MustGrow has yet been tested on.
• We covered the criteria Barry goes by to choose ethical, impactful and profitable investments, and we discussed some of the social outcomes Barry has achieved through impact investing (article continues below, please read on!)

• This was followed up by asking about more examples of investing in disruptive technologies.
• I then wanted to know what gave Barry the idea to start investing in this way - what in his past was the catalyst? We learned about Barry being born in Rhodesia, which today is Zimbabwe, and how he lived during a civil war, with both a "white" mother and a "black" mother - and how this helped shape his views on the world we live in.
• The next question was one investors would be interested in - how does EQ Capital Partner's investment results compare with that of the industry?
• After this, Barry shared his thoughts on blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the current market.
• I then asked Barry what else we need to know about impact investing, and where viewers and readers can find more information.
• We ended the interview, with Barry sharing memories of his first computer, a bit more detail about his history in the world of finance, how he sees impact investing evolving over the next couple of years, and into the 2030s thereafter, great advice Barry has received in life, and his final message to iTWire and iTWireTV viewers and readers, and to his current and future customers and partners.

So, please watch the fascinating video interview above to learn more, and take a look at the video interview Barry did with Ticker TV below!

Here is Barry's interview with Australian news service Ticker News:

Ticker - Barry Palte from Barry Palte on Vimeo.

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