Good January summary of impact investing news from various influencers via Pacific Community Ventures. Among the areas covered well are the impact foundations are making, emerging or maturing data management/metrics practices, and big newsmakers like TPG Capital’s $2 billion investment fund focusing on seeding social ventures in emerging markets like Africa.
The new US administration is expected to impact the social venture space as well – for example, as federal funding for climate change projects shift to other areas, private (foundations and family offices) and public sector (city/state driven like CDFIs) impacting investment funds are expected to pick up the slack, based on recent analysis by Forest Trends. Sustainable food and timber production projects, for example, comprised the greatest share of capital committed ($6.5 billion between 2004 and 2015) followed by habitat conservation ($1.3 billion) and water ($400 million).
Foundations of all sizes have been true leaders in the impact investing field, aligning their capital with their missions, ensuring a laser focus on impact and providing catalytic capital to attract other types of investors. Seeing the potential of impact investing for achieving transformative change, many foundations are looking to invest even greater resources in this new approach. To drive that, our partners Mission Investors Exchange are sponsoring an 11-week series exploring what’s next in impact investing and what we can learn from some of the most innovative foundations. Stanford Social Innovation Review
As PCV’s been saying for years, impact measurement and management are a critical component of impact investing. Having a strong assessment framework in place means better financial returns and an easier time assessing social impact to make adjustments over the life of an investment. Now, our partners at the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) have put out three case studies in support of their recent report The Business Value of Impact Measurement. Each Impact Measurement and Management Case details the investor’s investment strategy, impact measurement and management practices, and use of data. The GIIN
In the past two years BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, launched a new division called “Impact”; Goldman Sachs acquired an impact-investment firm, Imprint Capital; and two American private-equity firms, Bain Capital and TPG, launched impact funds. The main driver of all this activity is investor demand. Deborah Winshel of BlackRock Impact points to the transfer of wealth to women and the young, whose investment goals, she says, transcend mere financial returns. Among institutions, sources of demand have moved beyond charitable foundations to hard-bitten pension funds and insurers. Read more in The Economist
Under the new Trump administration, it’s widely understood that our government’s efforts to fight runaway climate change will be stopped and rolled back. But that doesn’t mean institutional entities across the country aren’t still working for renewable energy and clean air and water.
For example, conservation investing is on the rise and experienced dramatic growth these past three years as total committed private capital climbed from $5 billion to just over $8 billion, according to Ecosystem Marketplace’s latest report, State of Private Investment in Conservation 2016. It’s recognition of forests, wetlands and reefs as smart investments, authors say, and signals growing interest among even mainstream investors. Ecosystem Marketplace
Source: Pacific Community Ventures, Fast Co
