Case Study Four
Jed Emerson's Capstone: Reflections on Capital
Blended Value
“You don’t invest in a for-profit company to make tonnes of money so you can then give your money away to a non-profit to make up for all the ‘bad’ things you did to make the money in the first place.”
— Jed Emerson
What’s Interesting About Jed’s Blended Value Capstone
Jed Emerson is widely recognised as one of the original pioneers of impact investing — a founding voice in the field and a global thought leader on performance metrics and sustainable finance. As the originator of the terms "Blended Value" and "Total Portfolio Management," he has spent decades exploring the how and why of impact and purpose-driven capital investment strategies.
His journey has taken him from working with at-risk youth to advising some of the world’s wealthiest families on investing for positive change.
For his Capstone, he has entered a more reflective phase — shifting from system-building to system-questioning — and inviting all of us to challenge inherited narratives about the role and purpose of capital. He reminds us that our notions of capital are a construct. His Capstone calls for a deeper connection between how we think about finance, our lives, and the planet.
Cornerstone Influence: Youth Challenges
Jed’s early life was rooted in service. His father was a minister, and his mother a social worker. Raised in the New York area, Jed began tutoring in Spanish Harlem in seventh grade, later moved to Colorado as a teen, and eventually became the founding director of the Larkin Street Youth Centre in San Francisco — working closely with homeless youth and teenage sex workers.
These experiences shaped his early understanding of systemic injustice — and the inadequacy of traditional philanthropy. He noticed how too often, non-profits were forced to shape their activities to suit donor interests, rather than mission-driven strategy.
Jed pursued master’s degrees in both social work and business administration, aiming to apply deeper rigour to the sector.
Keystone Influence:
The Shift In Attitude From Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs
By the 1990s, Jed was immersed in the world of sustainable finance — speaking with social entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and for-profit founders alike. Despite their differences, Jed noticed he was having near-identical conversations.
He also observed a shift in attitude from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs cashing out after making their fortunes. It was no longer just about writing cheques — they had passionate visions of changing markets and communities. They wanted to draw the shortest possible line between their investment dollar and on-the-ground impact.
Jed realised these were all, at their core, conversations about value. Not just financial return. Not just social good. But the integration of both. Economic returns should no longer be seen as separate from social and environmental impact.
In 2000, he named this idea: Blended Value — to reflect the reality that value is whole. The traditional divide — investor vs. philanthropist, for-profit vs. non-profit — was outdated. His goal was to shift the focus to maximising the total value of our companies, communities, and capital. It rejected the binary of philanthropist or investor. In its place, it asked: why not both? Rather than either/or, why not both/and?
“This idea that my return financially has to come at your cost is the fundamental essence of financial capitalism.”
Blended Value became a new framework: assessing the impact of an investment or organisation based not only on profit, but on social and environmental dividends too.
Throughout his keystone phase, Jed became one of the field’s leading voices. He co-authored seven books, delivered global keynote addresses (Skoll, Davos, WEF), and held academic roles at Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford. He advised asset owners, launched frameworks, and built bridges across sectors.
“We want our kids to be happy and successful on terms that matter to them and to be healthy…”
Jed advocates a fundamental shift in how we view exchange. In traditional philanthropy, it's transactional — give a grant, walk away. But with an investment mindset, deploying capital is just the beginning. You stay engaged, focused on the value created by the transaction.
“My life and the value I want to create in my life is about a lot more than how much money I can give away before I’m dead.”
“The idea that you would spend your life doing whatever it takes to make money to do what you actually want to do with your life makes no sense.”
Capstone Phase:
A More Reflective Era
Turning 60 in 2019, and following personal bereavements, Jed entered a new phase: one of reflection, questioning, and deeper integration. He published The Purpose of Capital: Elements of Impact, Financial Flows and Personal Being — and made it available free to all.
“I’m not trying to sell people anything. I’m trying to help people reflect on the more fundamental questions regarding the purpose of capital.”
He began stepping away from keynote stages and into quieter dialogues. He no longer wanted to dominate rooms. He wanted to listen — and co-create answers.
“The real answers won’t come out of my mind — they’ll emerge in the space between.”
Jed’s Capstone is not a framework or a firm. It’s a call to deeper thinking. He challenges us to stop accepting inherited definitions of capital and start asking better questions. He continues to work with a select group of families — those who are “all in” on transformation.
Learnings From Jed’s Journey
1. Reconsider the purpose of capital
We have allowed financial capitalism to dictate what capital is and should be for. Jed invites us to pause and ask: what if it were a force for freedom, for wholeness, for systems change?
“We’ve missed something. Impact investing is becoming just another style of investing. If systems are to change, we must change — as individuals, and in how we see ourselves in the world.”
2. Capital is not neutral
Jed views capital as energy. It’s always doing something. It can oppress or liberate. Empower or extract. But it is never still.
“Capital becomes energy — a fuel for freedom.”
3. This isn’t just for the ultra-wealthy
Tools like crowdfunding, co-ops, and ethical consumption mean anyone can participate in capital with purpose.
“Capital is not neutral. It does things. All capital has impact.”
What This Means For Capstones
Jed’s thinking aligns directly with the Capstones philosophy. A Capstone is not just a project — it’s an investment in wholeness: personal, social, environmental, and financial.
Capital, like a Capstone, should move — circulating value rather than hoarding it.
Capstones can sit inside a portfolio as an “alternative alternative asset” — offering non-financial returns: meaning, clarity, legacy, joy.
Just like Blended Value, a Capstone’s return can benefit three levels (and therefore feel more whole):
The self (fulfilment, alignment)
Others close (family, friends, partners)
The wider world (society, planet)
And that’s okay. As Jed might argue, the line between “selfish” and “selfless” is false. The real question is: does your capital reflect your values?
Summary
Jed reminds us to come to capital — and to Capstones — with humility. To reflect before we act. To integrate before we separate. We are too often asked to choose: investor or philanthropist? Selfish or selfless?
But Capstones, like Blended Value, reveal a more honest truth: we are all both/and.
We must each define value on our own terms — and then build something that reflects it.
“I don’t want to be remembered for a programme or a keynote. I want to be remembered for helping people rethink the value of their lives.”