Chris Larson
CIO and Managing Director, Alder Point Capital Management
At a moment when private wealth and institutional capital have never been greater, how do we channel it into something positive for people and planet? That question sits at the heart of Confluence, and it’s why I’ve been part of it since nearly the beginning. Each year the community grows, the range of interests broadens, and more capital chases real solutions. What keeps drawing me back is the quality of the investors, advisors, and philanthropists who are genuinely wrestling with the forces shaping our lives, communities, and careers. From climate disruption and housing affordability to AI and deglobalization, we talked honestly about what we can do about it through advocacy, policy, and capital deployment.
This year, I had the privilege of participating in a session called Thinking Like a Planet: Investing in Nature-Based Solutions. Our facilitator, Katherine Pease of Pathstone, opened by asking everyone to close their eyes and picture a place in the natural world they care about: a river, a forest, a coastline. It was a small but powerful reflection: before we talked strategies and issues, we remembered why it matters.
What followed was a wide-ranging conversation spanning U.S. place-based investing, ecosystem markets, and tropical biodiversity hotspots, with practitioners who are working across regenerative agriculture, ecosystem service markets, and community land investment.
Meaningful investing in nature requires wading into systems complexity, but the rewards can be wide-ranging: benefits to communities, climate, watersheds, and species survival. Land isn't just an asset class. How we manage it, and who benefits, shapes whether ecosystems and communities thrive or erode.
After the Climate Summit wrapped, I was glad to attend the Freedom Economy dinner, which brought together investors committed to building an economy rooted in equity, racial and economic justice, and shared prosperity. Freedom Economy equips justice and sustainability investors with the knowledge, legal resources, and peer network to act on their values with confidence.
I left New York City with new friendships, sharper thinking, and renewed conviction. This work is patient, place-based, and ecosystem-minded — exactly what the moment calls for.
Investment advisory services offered through Alder Point Capital Management LLC a registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply any particular level of skill or training. This material is for informational purposes only and reflects the author’s views as of the date indicated. Information does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice.
Private real estate, farmland, and timberland investments involve risk, including loss of capital, limited liquidity, valuation uncertainty, operating risk, environmental and climate-related risk, regulatory risk, and reliance on third-party operators and service providers. Statements regarding environmental, climate, community, biodiversity, or other impact-related outcomes are aspirational, subject to change, and may not be achieved. Certain information may be obtained from third-party sources believed to be reliable, but Alder Point does not represent that such information is complete, current, or independently verified.