Charities
To contribute our share to global well-being, B&I Capital has supported environmental and social projects which aim to positively impact global society, flora and fauna.
Masarang Foundation was founded for the restoration of the Masarang mountains and the rescue of endangered species including the orangutan population in Borneo in 2001. It has evolved into a full-scale environmental NGO which focuses on preservation and restoration of the entire ecosystem which has life-bringing effects on local flora, fauna, and communities. By donating to Masarang Foundation, we participate in the plantation of roughly 11'000 trees.
Willie Smits, the founder, is an internationally recognized environmentalist whose understanding of ecosystems is outstanding and inspirational. He is respected by the locals, the Indonesian government, global research community, and is often interviewed by leading media such as National Geographic or BBC. Masarang Foundation was also nominated as one of the 12 best charities in the world by the BBC World Challenge 2007.
The Rainbow Centre
The Rainbow Centre is a grassroot charity setup in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. It helps students from extreme poverty with little parental support in South Western Sri Lanka where they suffer a life of crime, begging, addiction, and abuse. The Rainbow Center aims to break this cycle by enabling more than 500 children get prepared for and attend mainstream school. The Rainbow Center has expanded over the years to provide nursery, pre-school and now also a day school. B&I Capital has supported the Rainbow Centre since 2008.
Animals Asia was founded in 1998 by Jill Robinson in Hong Kong. It promotes compassion and respect for all animals and works to bring about long-term change. We specifically support the campaign to end bear bile farming, which sees over 10’000 bears kept on bile farms in China and Vietnam. Animals Asia has rescued more than 600 bears, caring for them at the award-winning bear sanctuaries in China and Vietnam. Animal Trust is a Swiss-based charity founded in 2000 that works together with Animals Asia. B&I Capital has supported both charities since 2010.
Asian Culture Transfer
Asian Culture Transfer (ACT) of the Ressort International is an initiative of the students at the University of St. Gallen. ACT is a student exchange program which promotes intercultural respect and understanding. Every year, selected students from two participating universities have the opportunity to spend ten days in both countries to explore their economic, political, ecological and cultural differences. B&I Capital has supported ACT since 2018.
B&I Capital has contributed to the McCombs Real Estate Investment Fund at the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin. It is a student-managed fund that allows undergraduate and MBA students to analyse and make investments in both public and private real estate as part of their education. B&I Capital’s co-founder and co-CEO Christian Bernasconi holds a seat on the Fund Advisory Board and our US analyst, Tyler Lyons, serves on the Fund Investment Committee. B&I Capital cooperates with qualified students to help them further their knowledge of public real estate markets.