The G8 Working Group report Allocating for Impact has given our sector the tools to expand into the mainstream, argues Harald Walkate, Head of Responsible Investing for Aegon Asset Management. But it will take active outreach to the individual decision-makers within pension funds, insurance companies, asset management firms and sovereign wealth funds to bring the changes needed for impact to reach its full potential.
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Sustainability is a key concept for our times. For impact investors who want to put their capital behind better ways of doing business, it’s an important indicator of investability. But what exactly do we mean when we say “sustainability” or “sustainable”? This blog explores how the meaning of sustainability is changing and what that may mean for social investors.
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From U.S. News and World Report’s 2014 ranking of the top business schools, we selected three U.S. based schools and two international schools where some of the social investing leaders of the future will learn their craft.
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Corruption is a problem for global business—and it’s twice the problem for impact investing because it strikes simultaneously at both of impact’s stated aims: profit and benefit. In this article we look at how corruption hurts the development of new kinds of social investing and show how the impact community can help fight the tide of dirty money and illegal dealing that’s slowing down our progress.
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From the beginning, impact investing has been the realm of the large private investor, mainly foundations, high-net-worth individuals and family offices. Until now, there have been few opportunities for individual investors to get involved. Now that’s changing as equity crowdfunding grows in popularity, finally giving individual investors the chance to put their capital behind impact.
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Impact investing was invented with foundations in mind. But, while governments and mainstream investors are actively getting involved impact, foundations have been slower to wade in, constrained by risk aversion and, in some cases, a misunderstanding of fiduciary responsibilities.. What will it take to encourage these traditionally conservative investors to take the plunge and unleash a wave of capital for social and environmental good?
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Healthcare is undergoing a global revolution. Demographic changes, including aging populations and rising levels of affluence in many countries, are altering health priorities for citizens and governments alike.
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The world is crying out for a good education. It was the number one choice of respondants to the My World digital survey for the change that would make the most difference to their lives. And yet, despite global pledges to improve education access and affordablity, millions are stil denied the education that could transform their lives and their communities. What can the impact community do to redress the balance — and why aren’t they doing it now?
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There’s a growing global demand for education and a huge potential market that could be catalyzed by an influx of impact capital. Yet impact investors have hardly entered the education arena. Why is this? And what can be done to improve impact’s performance in delivering urgently needed education to an eager world?
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Once the only way for impact investors to support justice was indirectly, through careful ESG investment screening coupled with impact metrics to assess outcomes. Now thanks to the emergence of bold new approaches to delivering justice, impact investors have the opportunity to put capital behind businesses bringing cost-effective justice solutions to citizens and governments alike.
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ESG performance is becoming more important to all kinds of investors, not just those in the impact sector. Where once finanical performance was everything, investors are increasingly turning to non-financial performance information–including governance, evironmental protection and value creation–to inform their decisions. This blog looks at the top investor-repelling non-financials and shows how choosing the right reporting approach can increase the appeal of social businesses across the board.
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Using #hashtags (the metatags that categorize tweets) is a great way to tune into conversations in the impact investing sector. Here at Maximpact, we try to keep up with the evolution of impact in its broadest sense, so we use many different Twitter hashtags in our social media. Here are some favorites we find ourselves using on a daily basis.
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With the beginnings of a track record to back up its claims, finance remains a solid bet for impact investors. The future looks positive as a new generation of impact-backed financial service providers hone their skills, diversify their products and discover untapped markets of underserved clients in different parts of the globe. In this blog, part three of a three-part series on impact investing in finance, we chart the future of investing in social finance.
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Recent years have seen a burst of innovation in the social finance sector with impact investors putting capital behind many of the most exciting and effective new approaches. In this blog, part two of a three part series on impact investing in finance, we look at the different kinds of finance and chart the growth of a sector on fire.
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