Abbreviation PwP Formation 2011 Purpose Humanitarian Aid | Motto Invested in Giving Type Foundation | |
Legal status Non-Profit Organization | ||
Portfolios with Purpose (“PwP”) is a registered 501(c)(3) Non-profit organization founded by Stacey Asher in 2011. It is an annual virtual stock selection competition in which players of novice and professional experience pay a nominal entry-fee to choose a five-stock, long-term portfolio. The contestants with the top-performing portfolios over a 12-month period will direct the sum total of the collected entry-fees to the charitable cause of their choice; and have the opportunity of a meeting with one of the professional hedge fund managers.
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Mission
Portfolios with Purpose was founded to create an engaging competition for those in the financial community and home/amateur investors alike, to personally align themselves with a charitable cause to play for; and to provide a venue for people who might not otherwise be inclined to give to charity, a place to become a part of a larger philanthropic community.
Operations
Portfolios with Purpose is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization overseen by a board of directors. Competitor stock portfolios are tracked, and progress is calculated daily. The contest's financial audits are prepared by Deloitte, and player's entry-fees are held in escrow at JPMorgan Chase. 100% of entry-fees net of credit card service charges are donated to top three competitor's, chosen charitable causes.
Senior Management
Asher is the Founder and current CEO, Alex Duran of Permian Investment Partners is Chief Financial Officer and Financial market Subject-matter expert, Joshua Williams is the Chief Operating Officer.
Media Coverage
After a year-long trial period, the public announcement of Portfolios with Purpose was conducted on June 20, 2012.
On September 6, 2012 Portfolios with Purpose announced the start of public registration, and the participation of several major hedge fund players: David Einhorn, Dan Loeb, Leon Cooperman, and Karen Finerman on the CNBC Fast Money Halftime Report.
Asher's professional background and the history of the formation of Portfolios with Purpose is detailed along with other notable public figures in Forbes Magazine on December 1, 2012.
On December 19, 2013 Portfolios with Purpose announced the official launch of the 2014 Contest Year with several participating philanthropists. The Giving Pledge signatory Leon Cooperman, and Robin Hood Foundation board member David Einhorn both founding Portfolios with Purpose members announced their return to the contest. As well as James Dinan, Marc Lasry, Rich Pzena, and Doug Silverman.
History
After a decade of working in the hedge fund industry on Wall Street, Portfolios with Purpose's Asher went to Tanzania in June 2011, to volunteer in a food kitchen. Here she learned that feeding 250 children, one meal a day, five days a week, cost only $500 a month. Knowing that professionals in the finance industry were easily able to donate these amounts, the missing piece was a charitable vehicle to give competitive Wall Street traders back home a way to compete with their peers, for their own personal charitable cause.
In December 2011, Portfolios with Purpose was born out of a meeting with hedge fund manager Joel Greenblatt in which he provided his backing as a player in the contest, and the seed money to set up the organization.