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Investing in Values - Mark Davis speaking at University of Cambridge

Date

On Tuesday 18th February, our Director Dr Mark Davis will be speaking at the Max Planck Cambridge Centre for Ethics, Economy and Social Change at an event entitled "Investing in Values".

With keynote lectures from Dr Lucia Pradella (King's College London) and Professor Donald MacKenzie (University of Edinburgh), Mark will be presenting his research on alternative finance during a panel discussion with Professor Diane Coyle (University of Cambridge), Grace Blakeley (author and activist), and Dr Sam Williams (Max Cam).

The focus of the panel is to interrogate the idea of "Enough" with Mark's paper entitled:

When Financial Return Isn’t Enough: Aligning Value and Values in UK Crowdfunding Investments

Abstract: My paper seeks to offer a grounded account of people’s conceptualisation and practices of investment by drawing upon two recent projects in the sociology of finance. First, I summarise key findings from a qualitative analysis of interviews with 52 ‘sophisticated investors’ in UK crowdfunding markets facilitated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). I explain how this maturing form of alternative finance is attracting people who wish better to align their ethical values with the value their investments generate. Second, I present on-going research into the feasibility of investment-based crowdfunding as a new model of finance for the public sector. This is intended to capture anyone motivated to move their money out of the mainstream finance industry and into alternative finance instruments promising better outcomes for people and planet. In so doing, the hope is that the power of mainstream finance will be challenged in order to build an economy that works for all.

The panel session runs 4.30-6.30pm.

 

Notes: The Max Planck Cambridge Centre for Ethics, Economy and Social Change (informally “Max-Cam”) is an innovative collaboration funded jointly by the University of Cambridge and the Max Planck Society. Formally established as of 1 July 2017, the Centre is dedicated to pursuing fresh ethnographic research in fields of urgent concern to humanity today. The Centre’s official launch took place in Cambridge on the 6th March 2018.