ESG Investing

Achieve your ESG goals with your tax equity.

Monarch makes it easy to invest in validated ESG funds comprised of projects that generate Federal and State Tax Credits

Unlike traditional ESG investment funds that offer a speculative portfolio of securities associated with ESG-rated companies, Monarch’s ESG funds are direct investments in sector-specific projects that positively impact communities while providing predictable returns from federal and state tax credits.

Monarch funds are validated ESG tax-advantaged investments. Socially responsible investors can mitigate their tax liabilities by using dollars reserved for tax payments versus dollars earmarked for traditional investments. Corporations, institutional investors and even individuals can allocate their investments to sectors that directly align with their ESG initiatives — such as generating clean energy, removing carbon emissions, building affordable housing for families and seniors, revitalizing neighborhoods and creating new jobs. All of Monarch’s federal funds have ESG assessment reports that clearly define and illustrate the ESG criteria and impact metrics.

Our investment opportunities allow you to achieve your ESG or sustainability goals while mitigating your state and federal tax liabilities.

Melanie Beckman, Chief ESG Officer & Director of Tax Credit Investments

Comparison of traditional ESG funds to Monarch’s tax equity ESG funds.

	Traditional ESG Funds	Monarch’s ESG Funds
Investments	Indirect / Passive	Direct / Active
Source of Investor Funds	Funds earmarked for portfolio investments	Funds reserved for tax payments
Returns	Speculative	Predictable
Alignment with Investor Initiatives	Often unfocused pools of investment	Sector-specific choices
Framework & Scoring	Varies	Verisk Maplecroft
Third-Party Validation	Varies	Bureau Veritas

Impact Investing: Making a Difference

In today’s world of pandemics, economic challenges and social crises, companies are compelled more than ever to address concerns beyond mere corporate profitability. Shareholders, employees, and local communities expect and demand that companies address local and global environmental, social, and governance concerns which are capturing the public’s attention and imagination. Monarch’s impact investment platform offers investors a very desirable alternative to make a public statement with a socially responsible investment that can make a real difference in the world.

Since 2005, Monarch Private Capital funds and tax equity investments have:

700 Projects

Managed $4 billion worth of tax credits for ESG investments in more than 700 projects in over 30 states

300,000 Jobs

Generated more than 300,000 jobs and a broad economic impact of more than $30 billion

40,000 Homes

Enabled the development of 35,000 units of affordable housing

10 Million Cars

Produced energy savings equivalent to removing nearly 10 million cars a year from America’s roads

ESG Impact Calculator

Want to see the impact of your socially responsible investment? Select an ESG investment type and enter your dollar amount and we’ll quantify it for you.

Our Approach to Impact Investing

Monarch Private Capital recognizes that its institutional investors are increasingly seeking to improve their profiles as socially responsible companies and further their ESG mandates and initiatives.

Therefore, Monarch has implemented an ESG Investment Framework across its main federal projects and funds. This framework was developed and implemented by Verisk Maplecroft, a global ESG risk analytics and consulting firm, for distribution to Monarch’s investors. Monarch partnered with Verisk Maplecroft due to its experience in addressing ESG issues in the European marketplace. This framework ensures that Monarch funds have been screened against internationally recognized and sector-specific ESG criteria by an independent third party.

Each project within a fund is assessed against a set of ESG criteria, using a points system to score each criterion.

Scores are aggregated to the three categories of environment, social and governance.

ESG Investment Framework Criteria and Scoring
The ESG criteria within Monarch Private Capital’s ESG Investment Framework were developed to reflect internationally recognized standards and industry best practice. The information used for the review of ESG criteria consists of ESG-specific data providers, information supplied by the client and/or investors as well as publicly available sources.
Each project within the fund is assessed against a set of ESG criteria, using a points system. Scores are assigned to each criterion on a scale of 0 to 10. Fully meeting a criterion elicits a score of 10 while a score of zero will be assigned to a criterion which has not been met.
Each criterion is also weighted to reflect its level of materiality to the sector. Subsequently, scores are aggregated to generate pillar scores for environment, social and governance and an overall project ESG score. Once all projects have been assessed, the fund will be given an overall ESG score.
The results will then be shared with all federal investors.
Positive Impact Metrics
In addition to the Fund ESG scoring, Verisk Maplecroft has identified Fund specific Impact Metrics measuring the benefits the projects will generate over the course of the investment lifetime and the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals it will help advance. These impact metrics, depending on the type of investment, could include but are not limited to clean energy created, CO2 emissions avoided, jobs created, and affordable homes developed.
Third-Party Validation
Monarch’s ESG Framework, Scoring, and Impact Metric calculation for each credit sector are being validated by Bureau Veritas.
Verisk Maplecroft
Verisk Maplecroft is a global risk analytics and forecasting company specializing in ESG, climate, and political risk data for the world’s leading institutional investors and corporations.
Bureau Veritas
Global leader in assurance and independent verification services. Established in 1828, they provide companies with services required to achieve, maintain, and assess compliance with Quality, Health & Safety, Environment, and Social Accountability obligations and associated management systems and data.

What is ESG Investing?

ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing, is also often called socially responsible investing, impact investing or sustainable investing. Investor interest in corporate ESG goals has gone mainstream and, what was once an alternative investment in ESG funds, is quickly becoming the new norm. ESG refers to the integration of three key elements of business activity:

Environmental

examines how a company operates in a sustainable manner and how it impacts the natural environment

Social

examines a company’s relationships, both internally (employees) and externally (clients, vendors, and communities)

Governance

examines a company’s standards for leadership and how it addresses risks and the rights of shareholders

A Brief History of ESG Investing

ESG principles for business began taking hold in Europe in the 1960s.
ESG investing was initiated in 2004 by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan when he wrote a letter to the CEOs of major financial institutions asking them to take part in an initiative to find better ways to integrate ESG into capital markets.
Today, ESG factors are deemed relevant for financial valuation and the grand majority of mainstream investors (80% according to Oxford University) consider ESG information when making investment decisions. Such a shift in corporate and societal modes has seen ESG investing rise swiftly to become a $12 trillion industry.