ImpactAlpha Open

Investing for shared prosperity + NYC’s pension funds lean into private equity

Dennis Price · August 5, 2025

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In this week’s Open:

  • Candide’s Morgan Simon points private assets toward shared prosperity
  • New York City’s pension chief leans into private equity
  • Community-owned solar in Argentina’s Patagonia 
  • Spotlight: Rockefeller’s Zero Gap Fund pays dividends

Let’s jump in. – Dennis Price

Must-reads on ImpactAlpha

  • Federal funding cuts have left gaps in the ‘care economy’ – and a pipeline of opportunities for private investors. Funding gaps left by the Trump administration’s budget cuts make more visible the spaces where private markets can do better at creating systemic equity and shared prosperity, says Candide Group’s Morgan Simon. In a guest post on ImpactAlpha, Simon points to investable strategies that demonstrate how mission-driven capital can plug government deficits to build a more equitable economy. Learn more.
  • How New York City’s pension funds are recycling capital and pushing PE firms to lower fees. When it comes to snagging deals in private equity, the early bird – and the big bird – gets the worm. “We typically get what’s referred to as big bird and early bird discounts – big bird meaning size discounts, and early bird discounts by being in the first close of these deals,” says Steven Meier, who, as the New York City Retirement System’s chief investment officer, oversees investments for the city’s five public pension funds. Keep reading.
  • Meliquina models Indigenous ownership in Latin America’s energy transition. Ecuador-based solar developer Meliquina and the Indigenous Mapuche Millaqueo community in Argentina are modeling Indigenous equity and asset ownership in Latin America’s clean energy boom. Collaboration on an 18-megawatt solar project offers the community, which holds the rights to valuable land but has little financial capital to invest, an equity stake and share of future profits. See how.

Agents of Impact

🏃 On the move

  • National Cooperative Bank welcomes Jazlyn Benitez, previously with Institutional Shareholder Services, as a renewable energy portfolio analyst.
  • Norbert Cichon, previously with Good Chaos, joins Spring Point Partners as an investment team director.
  • UBS promotes Amantia Muhedini to head of sustainable and impact investing in the Americas.

The Week’s Spotlight

💸 Rockefeller’s Zero Gap Fund continues to pay dividends

It’s the gift that keeps on giving. The Rockefeller Foundation fully committed its $30 million Zero Gap Fund two years ago, but recipients are still deploying funds, crowding in capital and generating impact, according to the foundation’s latest “state of the portfolio” report. The Zero Gap Fund has helped mobilize more than $1 billion in additional funding across a dozen investments supporting economic inclusion, access to finance and climate solutions.

Get in the Game

💼 Step up

  • The Greenlining Institute is hiring a senior program manager for climate equity in Oakland.
  • The Scottish National Investment Bank is looking for an associate director in Edinburgh.
  • Mission Driven Finance seeks a borrower services associate for a remote role.

Dozens of job opportunities are available to subscribers each week on ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub.

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