Institute For The Future

I’m fascinated to learn of a new “asset management cooperative” coming out of Finland—Robin Hood Minor Asset Management.

"Robin Hood is a counter investment cooperative of the precariat. Our business is minor asset management.”

Their business model is particularly astounding—they take pride in their Parasite Algorithm, which “identifies successful transactions by riding the coattails of successful investors.” Profits are then shared with “Robin Hood Projects,” including “grants for creative work, no interest loans, or anything else,” to be determined by the members of the cooperative.

In many ways, this is reminiscent of the Robin Hood Tax movement, which is in turn connected to the ATTAC movement and the much older Tobin Tax (recently implemented in Italy).

The big difference though is that this “counter investment cooperative” is apparently using their market savvy to simply produce a Tobin Tax-style effect from the ground up. If it actually works, it will be a pretty fascinating and fantastic closed loop mechanism for pumping money into philanthropy without having to pass through the cycle of personal accumulation beforehand.

Their nod to critical social theory á la Guy Standing in their language (i.e. “precariat”) also indicates a leftist political savvy not commonly found in the investment-algorithm-writing classes. Of course, leave it to Finland, my favorite quasi-socialist economic powerhouse of a nation to give birth to such an idea. (I miss you Helsinki!)

Even if, like me, you don’t have any giant wads of traditional capital sitting around to throw their way, you can get in early with some social capital and show your support with a “like” at the Robin Hood Minor Asset Management Facebook page.

Much thanks to my dear colleague, Liisa Välikangas, for tipping me off to this!