Impact investing is about a very simple, progressive idea: markets and money for good. Impact investing is built on the belief that financial tools can play a powerful role in solving the massive global challenges of our day, and that capital markets should work for good as well as profit. This vision is realized through investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.
Every month, PCV will give you a roundup of what’s new in the field, what conversations are taking place, and how you can get involved. Here are some highlights from August:
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h3″]What Makes A Good Job?[/custom_headline]
FIELD at the Aspen Institute has released an updated study on microbusiness job quality. In this report, they drill down into the benefits of microbusiness, which extend to creating good quality jobs. Based on in-depth interviews with 104 microbusiness workers, the report shares worker stories to illustrate the extent to which their jobs provided key elements of a quality job, including: good wages, benefits, stable schedules, opportunities to develop skills, and exposure to business ownership. Read more.
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h3″]Impact Investing Is Fast-Growing and Increasingly Sophisticated[/custom_headline]
Last month, the GIIN, in partnership with Cambridge Associates, released “Introducing the Impact Investing Benchmark,” the first comprehensive analysis of the financial performance of private equity and venture capital impact investing funds—specifically funds targeting risk-adjusted market rates of return and pursuing social impact objectives. The release of this benchmark is, of course, only a first step in understanding industry performance. Read more.
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h3″]New Insights Into CDFI Growth[/custom_headline]
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) loan funds, community-based organizations that invest capital in pursuit of their social missions, have been growing in size and scope over the past several years. Our friends at Aeris break down annualized growth trends among CDFIs from the four major sectors: small business and microlending, housing development, community facilities development, and home financing for individual homebuyers. Read more.
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h3″]5 Ways To Make Impact Investing Mainstream[/custom_headline]
Impact investing has been embraced by the mainstream: The Pope praises it as a meaningful poverty alleviation tool. Blackrock, one of the largest global asset manager, and Bain Capital, one of the largest private equity fund, are building offerings in impact investing. Most G8 countries are discussing enabling policies to scale it. Our partners at The World Economic Forum detail the five methods used bring impact investing from the margins to the mainstream. Read more.
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h3″]Sustainability Isn’t Just About Doing Good Anymore[/custom_headline]
With limited information about natural, human, and social capital, integrating sustainability into valuation can be hard. Asking the right questions is half the battle. We also need to better understand what new tools to develop to find any non-financial benefits that fly under the radar. Fortunately for investors, momentum is building to provide them with the data they need. Read more.
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h3″]MacArthur Is Overhauling Their Programs To Wager On Big Bets[/custom_headline]
The MacArthur Foundation announced that as it steps up grants to curb climate change, overhaul the criminal justice system, and tackle other global challenges with big-dollar investments, it is winding down support for many other efforts, such as improving maternal health care in needy countries. The nation’s 10th largest foundation is getting rid of many small grant-making efforts so it can better ensure that its $6.4 billion in assets produce “transformative” change. Read more.
[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h3″]Impact Investing Through A Gender Lens[/custom_headline]
Gender lens investing — investing that considers the benefits to women and girls — has gained considerable popularity within the impact-investing world. In its annual survey, the Global Impact Investing Network found that a third of all respondents were interested in making investments that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through both debt and equity investments in the United States and emerging markets. Read more.