Colin Campbell – The Case for Environmental Markets (Climate Solutions EP.3, Capital Allocators EP.302)

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Colin Campbell is a Partner at Bain Capital and co-head of the Partnership Strategies team that manages assets primarily for Bain Capital’s partners in strategies that diversify away from the equity-orientation of the firm’s core. In its search for attractive, uncorrelated assets, the Partnership Strategies team became an early mover in environmental markets.

Both Tom Steyer and Bill Orum cited carbon credits and offsets as a necessary and important near-term component to effect climate transition. Colin’s deep engagement in the space provides a wonderful primer for those interested.

Our conversation dives into Colin’s background and investment approach that led to the discovery of the opportunity in environmental markets. We then turn to his investment thesis, sourcing, description and nuance of compliance and voluntary markets, and implementation.

Show Notes

(6:05) Colin’s background (8:50) A blank slate at Bain Capital (11:34) Leveraging research in the allocator seat (13:30) Strategies to achieve diversification (16:27) Investment opportunities in environmental markets (19:47) Compliance and voluntary markets (23:38) Measuring emissions for carbon permits (28:09) Investment instruments in compliance markets (29:26) Size of compliance markets (30:41) Correlation with other asset classes (32:59) Withstanding short-term volatility (37:00) Inner workings of voluntary markets (40:36) Decentralization within voluntary markets (44:34) Risk and return characteristics (50:40) Portfolio construction (53:39) Operational requirements for participation (55:09) Closing questions

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