Venture capital has always been a high-risk, high-reward proposition. Its current surge is finding an unlikely proponent in legendary investor Jeremy Grantham.
The billionaire has a worthy cause in mind: his Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. My foundation is aspiring to an extremely large 40 percent allocation to venture capital, because that is where I see the greatest potential, and we certainly need all the money we can
make trying to protect the environment, Grantham says in his office at the Boston headquarters.
The U.K. native launched his $617 million foundation in 1997 to concentrate on Climate Change and Agriculture. In February it announced its involvement in a new $430 million fund with Boulder,
Colorado based Vision Ridge Partners and Capricorn Investment Group of New York that will focus on clean-energy companies and other sustainable assets.
Venture capital is uniquely suited for mission-driven, or impact, investing because investors can give early support to companies that share their values and help to bring those businesses and values to market, says the slender, sharply dressed Grantham.
