Bridges Fund Management: Navigating Changes in the Political Economy

by Jennifer Walske and Laura D'Andrea Tyson
01 Jul 2017

This case focuses on Bridges Fund Management (Bridges), an early leader in the impact investing space, with offices located in both the U.K. and the U.S. Bridges has been in operation for fifteen years and has raised, through early 2017, over $1billion in capital across its 12 funds. While the firm was originally founded by two members the U.K.'s Social Investment Task Force (SITF), Sir Ronald Cohen (now Advisory Board Chair) and Michele Giddens (now one of Bridges most senior partners), the firm now has seventeen partners located either in its U.K. or U.S. offices. Bridges' third co-founder, Philip Newborough, serves as Bridges' overall Managing Partner. The case asks: how might the changing political environment in both the U.S. and U.K. in early 2017 impact Bridges in its ability to raise future funds and in the level of support (financial or otherwise) available to its investments, also known as portfolio companies? Bridges addresses social issues by investing in companies that provide both a financial return and social impact. For example, Bridges improves unemployment through investments in the Babington Group which provides job training to youth; improves healthcare and well-being by investments in Alina and Home Care which serve aging populations; and improves access to housing through its property funds with investments in the Old Vinyl Factory in the U.K. and the Spoke housing complex in the U.S.

Learning Objectives

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The main objectives are two-fold: 1) Understanding how changes in public sentiment and political leadership might influence the success of an existing private equity firm that addresses the social sector and 2) Identifying the challenges that arise from shifting public policies, especially after a firm had historically benefitted from government funding, tax policies and/or credits, as well as the challenges of still meeting the expectations of investors (both social and financial), known as limited partners, over the long-run.

Details

Pub Date: Jun 30, 2017

Discipline: Finance

Subjects: Portfolio management, Government policy, Politics, Social issues, Private equity

Product #: B5890-PDF-ENG

Industry: Finance & insurance

Geography: United States, United Kingdom

Length: 26 page(s)