Finance
Exclusive | Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area to fuel US$50 million decarbonisation fund
Kahlbetzer and Twynam’s investment director, Jonathan Green, came just before the holidays to meet with Hong Kong family offices and other professional investors to promote Twynam’s Earth Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund.
Set up in early 2023, the fund aims to raise US$50 million to invest in companies focused on technologies to reduce carbon emissions. It has already signed up prominent investors including US retail giant Walmart heir Lukas Walton and Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.
“We have met many people in Hong Kong and the reception has been positive,” Kahlbetzer said.
Kahlbetzer, who is the second generation of his family to run Twynam, will consider setting up a base in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s revamped cash-for-residency scheme to pit it against Singapore
Hong Kong’s revamped cash-for-residency scheme to pit it against Singapore
“Hong Kong is certainly one of the top options for investment,” he said. “Obviously, we will consider setting up an office in Hong Kong, depending on what investment interests we receive from Hong Kong and Chinese investors.”
Before returning to Australia four years ago, Green lived in Hong Kong for several years, so he is familiar with the development area that includes Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland cities in Guangdong province.
“In the Greater Bay Area, there are some of the fastest and best innovators anywhere on the planet,” he said.
The fund has already invested in four companies and plans to invest in a total of 25 firms by 2025.
Hong Kong needs art financing ecosystem to support family-office hub plan
Hong Kong needs art financing ecosystem to support family-office hub plan
“Our interest goes back to our agricultural business,” Kahlbetzer said. “We are always looking at how to do things better, in a more environmentally friendly way, and to develop new technologies for different types of farming.”
Kahlbetzer’s father John, who died aged 92 in November, was ranked the 49th richest man in Australia in 2019. He was born in Germany but migrated to Australia to start Twynam in 1969. He made most of his fortune in farming while his two sons, Johnny and Markus, have shifted to venture capital and property in recent years.
Johnny Kahlbetzer has a long history in decarbonisation investments, having personally invested US$80 million in the sector over the last decade.
“If we are going to believe in solving global warming, the only way is through decarbonisation,” he said. “That is my mission, our team’s passion. We are amazed at the number of people we have met in the Asia-Pacific region over the last few days who are talking openly about climate change, saying that it is getting hotter, drier and wetter.”
Kahlbetzer thus believes the fund will have no difficulty raising funds. Rather, the challenge lies in selecting companies that have technologies and business models that can achieve the goal of decarbonisation while at the same time bringing profit to the fund’s investors within 10 years.
Hong Kong sees yuan, green finance among areas to foster Vietnam, Laos ties
Hong Kong sees yuan, green finance among areas to foster Vietnam, Laos ties
The family itself is also investing in 10 per cent of the Earth Fund, at US$5 million.
“The other reason we set up the fund is that I have two children who just finished high school,” Kahlbetzer said. “My eldest son is very interested in this space, and he has already begun to take an interest in the business.”
He added he would like his son to join the family business in eight to 10 years to continue its work and missions.
“That is our family’s reputation, which we consider highly important,” he said. “We want to secure the returns and the environmental impact that we are saying that we are going to achieve by this Earth Fund.”
Finance
St. Augustine's says it will eliminate 50% university employees ahead of accreditation meeting
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) announced Saturday it will eliminate several positions, including non-faculty and vacant, this month ahead of its significant accreditation meeting.
Last December, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commissioner on Colleges (SACSCOC) voted to remove SAU from membership due to its financial status. The university’s appeal was denied in February and then in July, the SACSCOC arbitration committee reversed the decision and reinstated SAU’s accreditation.
The SACSCOC board will vote on the next step for the university in December.
In a news release, SAU said to ensure compliance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commissioner on Colleges and keep its accreditation, the school has reduced its expenses by approximately $17 million in fiscal year 2024 compared to 2023. Reductions, totaling 50% of university employees, include 67 staff positions (41% reduction); 37 full-time faculty positions (67% reduction); 32 adjunct faculty positions (57% reduction); and stopping several under-enrolled programs.
SEE ALSO | St. Augustine’s alumni hosts celebration amid canceled on-campus homecoming
The university also said it will be actively settling outstanding balances with vendors and adjusting various contrasts.
SAU also reported completing four financial audits for fiscal years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and restoring employee payroll and health insurance benefits.
The HBCU university — remaining millions of dollars in debt — secured a $7 million loan from Gothiuc Ventures with a high-interest rate. To get the loan, St. Aug’s put up much of the university’s main campus and off-campus properties as collateral.
Gothic Ventures tells ABC11 that the interest rate offered was determined by the financial difficulties faced by the university, which included a recent audit, historical revenue losses, and outstanding debt.
SEE ALSO | Saint Augustine’s University’s high-rate $7 million loan puts HBCU in jeopardy, finance experts say
Many, including SAU alumni and finance experts, are concerned about this loan.
“We are concerned about the partnership between Gothic Ventures and Saint Augustine University because if for any reason Saint Augustine is unable to repay Gothic ventures, the land will be lost and the university as we know it will cease to be,” alum Bishop Clarence Laney said.
The lawsuit against the board of trustees by the SaveSAU Coalition was also recently dismissed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The featured video is from a previous report.
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I’ve been thinking about financial risk lately.
Should I change my asset allocation in my retirement portfolio, considering Donald Trump’s successful bid for the White House? Stock market valuations have risen smartly in recent years, which real income growth, productivity improvements, technological innovation, low unemployment rates and healthy corporate profits have largely powered. Yet with the election of Trump, voters have approved a massive economic experiment.
The Trump administration comes into power with many policy goals, but four economic initiatives stand out: Enacting significant tax cuts; imposing broad-based and significant tariffs; sweeping raids, mass deportations and tighter immigration controls; and slashing federal government regulations. The extent that these plans turn into reality and how each policy will interact with the others is uncertain. The risks are obvious. The outcome isn’t.
Enter risk management, a critical concept in finance. Professionals often associate risk with volatility. The tight link makes sense, since owning assets with high volatility hikes the odds of losses if there is a pressing need to sell the asset to raise money.
However, for the typical individual and household, risk means the odds money decisions made today don’t pan out. Managing risk means lowering the negative financial impact on your desired standard of living from decisions gone wrong and when circumstances take an untoward turn.
“Anything that makes reaching or maintaining that more likely reduces your risk, and anything that makes this less likely increases your risk,” writes Bob French, the investment expert at Retirement Researcher. “Everything else is just details.”
The key risk management concept is a margin of safety, a bedrock personal finance idea broader than investment portfolios. It can include having an emergency savings fund, owning life insurance to protect your family and investing in your network of friends and colleagues to hedge against the risk of losing your job. The right mix depends on the particulars of your situation.
In my case, after studying my portfolio, running household money numbers and reviewing lifestyle goals, I’m comfortable with the asset allocation in my retirement portfolio. There is too much noise in the markets for comfort, and market timing is always tricky. The prudent approach with my individual situation is to stay the course.
At a Zoom meeting on Friday, November 22, School Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman recommended to the Regional School Committee and Union 26 School Committee that Shannon Bernacchia be appointed interim Finance Director for the schools, replacing Doug Slaughter who had served in that position since 2019. Bernacchia has served as Assistant Finance Director under Slaughter. Her appointment was approved unanimously by both school committees.
In recommending Bernacchia for the interim director position, Herman cited her “impressive career, dedication, and accomplishments during this transitional period [to a new administration],” adding, “Since joining our district, she has demonstrated exceptional proficiency in managing complex financial operations, including preparing budgets, overseeing audits, and providing detailed financial reporting to the school committee.”
Bernacchia holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Bay Path University and professional training in school fund accounting. She currently holds an emergency School Business Administrator license valid through 2025 and has completed all requirements for her initial license, except for the 300 hours of mentorship. She anticipates completing that requirement in January, 2025. Former Amherst Regional Public Schools and Town of Amherst Finance Director Sean Mangano is serving as her mentor.
Herman expressed confidence in Bernacchia’s ability to head the district’s financial operations.
In acknowledging her appointment, Bernacchia thanked the school committee members and said that she was excited to work with superintendent who is woman.
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