Stanford’s Magnani and Monk build a diagnostic framework for why seemingly attractive markets, like nature-based assets or AI compute, never consolidate into recognized asset classes. Using a 2014 Obama-era climate-infrastructure case, they show a purpose-built intermediary broke the deadlock other fixes couldn’t.
The Missing Market: Diagnosing Institutional Absence in Investment Ecosystems
Stanford University
Maira Magnani, Ashby Monk
Research
19 Pages
Key Takeaways
27 configurations mapped: The framework classifies conditions across three levels into 27 possible configurations, each tied to a recommended posture from adoption to withdrawal.
Cleantech collapse preceded fix: Venture investment in cleantech fell roughly two-thirds between 2011 and 2013, even as a 2015 initiative targeted $2 billion in private capital.
New intermediary unlocked capital: A purpose-built "Aligned Intermediary" helped unlock over $4 billion in pledges by June 2015, anchored by $1.2 billion from four major investors.
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