After the Fires: Six Month Later – A Story About What Works

It was January. Around 5 a.m. I was still awake, unable to take my eyes off the images coming out of Los Angeles. The fires had been raging all night. The loss was staggering.

I had been texting friends who lived in some of the impacted neighborhoods—places I’d visited, gathered in, celebrated life. Places that held memories. Watching them burn was devastating.

Even though we knew this was coming—that climate change would accelerate the frequency and intensity of fires—it didn’t make it any easier to witness.

And amid the heartbreak, a quiet, unsettling question surfaced: What about the bonds I’d invested in Los Angeles?

Bonds are a core part of Montcalm TCR’s investment strategy. Why? Because they’re rooted in the real—public infrastructure, civic purpose, long-term planning. They’re designed to weather storms, both literal and metaphorical.

Still, I wondered: could they withstand this?

Amazingly, they did.

Private property losses were enormous—homes, businesses, entire communities scorched. But the municipal bonds? Steady. Resilient. Unshaken.

I sat with that for a while.

I had long believed that investing in bonds—especially municipal bonds—was a safer and more ethical strategy for navigating the global uncertainties we face, including climate-related disruption. Time and again, that belief has been validated by the numbers and the outcomes over the past decade.

But this fire—so close to home, so visceral—felt like the ultimate test.

And once again, the thesis held: investing in the collective, in the local, in the real, offered not just financial stability, but actual resilience. These investments weren’t just safe—they were part of LA’s ability to recover.

There are powerful, grounded ways for finance to respond to climate chaos. But where are they in mainstream conversations?

Why aren’t more financial institutions talking about this?

It feels like the industry might be missing the bigger story.

What do you think?