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If timing is everything, Kevin Conroy got off to a rough start. He said he launched his investment company, Finite, and its first fund at "terrible" times.
Keven founded Finite in 2019 to give individuals access to sustainable institutional quality investment opportunities. As 2022 dawned, the company opened its Solar Finance Fund to investors with the ticker SOLRX. The minimum initial investment is just $500.
2022 was the worst year for fixed income and elements of fixed income ever. And yet, Kevin said he capitalized on "good opportunities."
"You can be fresh and not so entrenched when things are going a little sideways," he said. "We needed a strong team to go into traditional institutional-type fund pitches. We needed extensive experience because people care about how many years you've spent managing money and how much you've managed."
He even made the most of the pandemic and the work-from-home boom it spawned, hiring the best people no matter where they lived rather than limiting hiring to areas near the company's Los Angeles headquarters.
He's now advancing his goal of streamlining investments in sustainable assets — making it as simple as buying stock in Robinhood.
Kevin describes Finite as the first platform to mobilize investor capital seamlessly into sustainable assets through publicly listed funds, adding that it "transparently invests in tangible assets delivering quantifiable impact and access to all investors."
In today's podcast, he explains how his interest in sustainable finance led him to create a company that allows everyday folks to invest in genuinely impactful projects. It's a meaningful conversation as we speed towards decarbonizing our economy and grid. It helps us understand the deployment of capital to sustainable assets and the significance of giving a broader swath of humanity access to these opportunities.
Finite enables everyday folks to participate directly in financing distributed solar and storage assets. Kevin serves as president and co-portfolio manager for SOLRX, handling sourcing and capital investment.
Kevin began his career at JP Morgan's investment bank, specializing in corporate restructuring and managing an extensive equity portfolio. He nurtured his interest in sustainable finance through an early position at Dividend Finance, a trailblazer in the residential solar financing industry.
You'll hear today how this St. Louis, Missouri native who wanted to be a professional baseball player as a kid refocused his interest in the game of summer to supporting the brighter future of solar investment.
NOTEWORTHY QUOTEs:
“What I get excited about is, I think with the IRA passing, you do have a market that’s going to open up, I think it’s going to open up in 2023 with kind of municipal, smaller municipal governments, nonprofits who really can benefit and traditionally have not been able to afford it or capture most of the benefit.”
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SUNGROW focuses on integrated energy storage system solutions, including PCS, lithium-ion batteries and energy management system. Pleae visit https://www.mysuncast.com/sungrow
ABOUT THE HOST OF SUNCAST:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is an Investor, Executive Coach, and 16-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
You can connect with Nico Johnson on Twitter, LinkedIn or email.
If you’ve been second-guessing your work decisions or maybe trying to reconsider how you "fit" in the renewable energy industry -> grab 20 minutes on Nico's calendar and discuss whether having him as Your personal coach might be the right next step.