Portfolios with Purpose

Portfolios with Purpose
Abbreviation PwP
Motto Invested in Giving
Formation 2011
Type Foundation
Legal status Non-Profit Organization
Purpose Humanitarian Aid
Location
Chief Executive Officer/Founder
Stacey Asher
Main organ
Board of Directors
Staff
No salaried employees; volunteers only

Portfolios with Purpose (“PwP”) is a registered 501(c)(3) Non-profit organization[2] founded by Stacey Asher in 2011.[3] It is an annual virtual stock selection competition in which players of novice and professional experience pay a nominal entry-fee[4][5][6][7] to choose a five-stock, long-term portfolio. The contestants with the top-performing portfolios over a 12-month period will direct the sum total of the collected entry-fees to the charitable cause of their choice; and have the opportunity of a meeting with one of the professional hedge fund managers.[2][5][6]

Mission

Portfolios with Purpose was founded to create an engaging competition for those in the financial community and home/amateur[2] investors alike, to personally align themselves with a charitable cause to play for; and to provide a venue for people who might not otherwise be inclined to give to charity, a place to become a part of a larger philanthropic community.[3][8]

Operations

Portfolios with Purpose is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization overseen by a board of directors. Competitor stock portfolios are tracked, and progress is calculated daily. The contest's financial audits are prepared by Deloitte, and player's entry-fees are held in escrow at JPMorgan Chase.[9] 100% of entry-fees net of credit card service charges are donated to top three competitor's, chosen charitable causes.[5][6]

Senior Management

Asher is the Founder and current CEO, Alex Duran of Permian Investment Partners[10] is Chief Financial Officer and Financial market Subject-matter expert, Joshua Williams is the Chief Operating Officer.[1]

Media Coverage

After a year-long trial period, the public announcement of Portfolios with Purpose was conducted on June 20, 2012.[11]

On September 6, 2012 Portfolios with Purpose announced the start of public registration, and the participation of several major hedge fund players: David Einhorn, Dan Loeb, Leon Cooperman, and Karen Finerman on the CNBC Fast Money Halftime Report.[12]

Asher's professional background and the history of the formation of Portfolios with Purpose is detailed along with other notable public figures in Forbes Magazine on December 1, 2012.[3]

On December 19, 2013 Portfolios with Purpose announced the official launch of the 2014 Contest Year with several participating philanthropists.[13] The Giving Pledge signatory Leon Cooperman, and Robin Hood Foundation board member David Einhorn[13] both founding Portfolios with Purpose members announced their return to the contest. As well as James Dinan,[2] Marc Lasry, Rich Pzena, and Doug Silverman.[4]

History

After a decade of working in the hedge fund industry on Wall Street, Portfolios with Purpose's Asher[14] went to Tanzania in June 2011, to volunteer in a food kitchen. Here she learned that feeding 250 children, one meal a day, five days a week, cost only $500 a month. Knowing that professionals in the finance industry were easily able to donate these amounts, the missing piece was a charitable vehicle to give competitive Wall Street traders back home a way to compete with their peers, for their own personal charitable cause.[3][8][15]

In December 2011, Portfolios with Purpose was born out of a meeting with hedge fund manager Joel Greenblatt in which he provided his backing as a player in the contest, and the seed money to set up the organization.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Contact Us". Portfolios with Purpose. Portfolios with Purpose. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Portfolios With Purpose: Stock Picking for a Cause". WSJ. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ziegler, Maseena (1 December 2012). "When Quitting Is Not An Option - How You Can Find Purpose And Fulfillment Through Your Career". Forbes. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Scene Last Night: Stock Pickers Ready for Charity Contest". BloombergLuxury. Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "Contest". Portfolios with Purpose. Portfolios with Purpose. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 Williamson, Christine (23 July 2012). "Stock-picking competition all for a good cause". Pension Investments. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  7. Chen, Jing (29 June 2012). "Hedge Fund-Backed Charity 'Stocks Up' for Good Cause". eVestment Alliance. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  8. 1 2 "About Us". Portfolios with Purpose. Portfolios with Purpose. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  9. "Frequently Asked Questions". Portfolios with Purpose. Portfolios with Purpose. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  10. Annex, Film. "Alex Duran on Portfolios with Purpose". Film Annex. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  11. "PwP Tests Your Investing Acumen, All In The Name Of Charity". FINAlternatives. FINAlternatives. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  12. "CNBC". CNBC Video Archive. CNBC Video Archive. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  13. 1 2 "Trading for Charity". CNBC. CNBC. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  14. "PORTFOLIOS WITH PURPOSE — A STOCK CONTEST WITH A MISSION". Investor Place. Investor Place. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  15. "Portfolios with Purpose – Putting Wall Street to work for charity". MarketWatch. MarketWatch. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
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