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Go Green
The No-Traveling Salesman
"Within five years, technology will obliterate the need for business travel." - an entry in The Big Idea series from Fast Company
The assertion is easy to dismiss, and would probably draw laughs in many of the traditional intermediary sales organizations in our industry.
But as I dined on my knees folded into an "economy-minus" seat for six hours on a recent cross-country flight, I began to think the idea has some teeth. Consider:
- Travel continues to be less appealing. Elevated oil prices have triggered rising airfares, not to mention ancillary costs, and a decline in driving across the country. Time spent in traffic has nearly tripled over the last two decades. And decent legroom in coach doesn't come free.
- Technology continues to improve. A wise former employer of mine is just one company using cutting-edge videoconferencing technologies to save millions and improve the quality of remote interactions.
- Companies increasingly think green. Nationwide cut its carbon footprint by 80% over five years in part due to reduced travel, and Calamos has constructed a certified green headquarters.
Less travel. Enhanced technology. Positive environmental impact.
The proliferation of hybrid wholesaling is just one way that these trends are manifesting themselves when it comes to selling to financial advisors. Maybe it's just the start.
Gone Green
by Jessica
Our old Poland Spring water cooler is being kicked to the curb. He's been around kasina even longer than I have, but now is being replaced with a new, shiny, spry reverse osmosis water filter. As such, I would like to take a few moments to honor said cooler, and to expound upon what we here at kasina will miss in his absence.
- Gone are the days of our indefatigable office manager announcing to our large, open loft space, "The Water Cooler Needs to be changed!" like a celebratory cry inviting us to rise to the challenges of volunteerism and good will.
- Gone are the shows of brute strength and athletic precision that accompanied said changing.
- Gone is the leviathan of crates that filled our kitchen storage space, the monolith of emptied and awaiting five gallon plastic bottles.
- And gone, of course, is the cooler itself, the old guard sentinel that was witness to so many kitchen antics.
So now, all we are left with is more space, more time, more repose, less plastic, and, of course, filtered water.
Stay tuned for my upcoming homage to obsessive double sided printing, my ode to our reusable shopping bags, and my epitaphs for the incandescent light bulb and alkaline battery.
How Does Your Garden (Salad) Grow
by Megan
Lately, newspapers have been littered with articles about the growing food crisis around the world. For most of us, it translates into a slight increase in our weekly grocery bill and a scoff at the outrageous price of milk. But for many Americans, and for most people in developing countries, tagging on an extra dollar or two to a gallon of milk means the difference between breaking even and being in the red.
This topic came to a head at a recent kasina Book Report when I brought in Slow Food Nation by Carlo Petrini. The book is Petrini's response to what he views as the disconnection we have with our food. He basically argues that, in the explosion of industrialization that took food from being grown in backyards and local farms ...(wait, where does my food come from?), a pivotal bolt in American culture has been lost. We have lost local recipes, knowledge of cultivation and agriculture, and an understanding that what we put in the earth, whether chemicals or seeds, has an impact on our environment and our quality of life.
What this Book Report inspired was a debate about class, economics, international trade, and taste: does there have to be a difference between affordable and good? Is quality reserved for those who can afford it? Is it elitist to like good food?
For as long as I can remember, my grandmother has had a garden. In recent years, my mother, who lives in Colorado, has taken to growing squash, basil, mint, and tomatoes in a small garden made of old railroad ties in her backyard. There is something satisfying in sitting down to a salad and a glass of sun-brewed tea with mint after having watered, weeded, and watched the ingredients grow since early spring. Every time she sits down to one of her home-grown meals, she takes particular pride in each bite. This, she says, is good food. She still goes to the store for milk, eggs, and will be one of the million of us who will be paying more and more to have someone else plant, raise, and produce her food -- but, at least in the summer months, the best meals will be those that came right from her backyard.
Innovation Will Continue to Enable New Economies
By Anu (Part 2 of 3)
On Valentine's Day, CERES invited a small kasina team to visit the United Nations for the Investor Summit on Climate Risk. The summit attendees represented firms with over $12 Trillion in AUM. The related brainpower was equally impressive, yet one topic stood out to me.
The topic was innovation and delivered by Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems and Sand Hill Road titan. He made the case for investing heavily in innovation to eliminate our country's foreign oil dependence. What floored me was his optimism and bold predictions. Khosla views the underinvestment in education as the limiting factor to reducing carbon emissions. His bold predictions included:
- Oil prices will have to drop dramatically to compete with bio-mass fuels in 3 to 5 years (in an unsubsidized world).
- Carbon-assuming cement will be a reality and in use within 5 years.
- First-generation food fuels (e.g., corn-based ethanol) will be irrelevant and should garner no government investment.
Bold predictions made in an important time period. That, coupled with Al Gore's message of fiduciary responsibility, made for an unforgettable day.
Climate Change - A Bob Rumson Problem
by Mike Mc (Part 1 of 3)
"Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it!" - President Andrew Shepherd in The American President
Eight hours of discussion at the United Nations for the Investor Summit on Climate Risk and what ends up swirling around my head? The shortcomings of Bob Rumson, a fictional political foil attempting to unseat a sitting (and fictional) president. Unexpected.
Even so, having let the day at the UN sink in for a bit, I understand why the words of Andrew Shepherd stick with me. Those that want faster, better action on the issue of climate change have a Rumson-esque problem. Consider that:
- At the Summit, Professor John Holdren of Harvard delivered an impassioned and thorough analysis on why people need to care about climate change... and it took 45 minutes.
- At the movies, An Inconvenient Truth offered a similarly impassioned and thorough analysis on why people need to care about climate change... and it took 100 minutes.
I left the Summit wanting to share what I had learned but struggling to find a way to concisely spread it. I get the issue, but if I have 30 seconds at dinner to get my parents excited, I'm in trouble.
Ultimately, pro-environment messages are destined for success. However, in a situation where time is of the essence, considering how to package those messages to speed the uptake is absolutely crucial.
There is Money to be Made with Global Warming
By Steven Miyao
The world is facing global warming, not global icing -- but DWS Scudder is creating buzz by transforming Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills into a ski slope. There will be more than 80 separate events that are supposed to generate visibility for their Climate Change Fund. DWS claims that the event has been structured as carbon neutral. All greenhouse gas emissions generated in the course of the event are offset by an investment in a high quality emission reduction project, namely Bagepalli Biomass Project.
DWS follows in the footsteps of a number of climate-related investment funds, such as:
- Allianz, with its RCM Global Eco Trends Fund, which invests in companies that support alternative energy, energy efficiency, pollution control, environmental quality, waste management, recycling, and the clean water sector
- Fred Alger and its Spectra Green funds, which have recently broadened their composition of green fund portfolios to include companies across all industries that are making serious investments and commitments to change the way they do business
DWS continues to position itself as an innovator: in 2006, the company combined its asset management and investment banking capabilities to launch a series of structured notes. In 2007, sales of these products rose to approximately $330 million, up from $55 million in 2006. DWS is continuing to push the envelope by moving away from touting performance to creating buzz through these provocative events.