More than just financial return
The past few years have seen the rise of impact investing as a reaction against the one-dimensional search for the highest return through – sometimes highly complex or solely arbitrage – investment propositions. Impact investing seeks to add value to society. For the impact investor, value creation for society and financial return are equally important.
There is no such thing as a neutral investment
The rise of impact investing is also instrumental in making investors realise that there is no such thing as a neutral investment; that every transaction has an impact, positive or negative. In our view, all investments must start with the question ‘what is the impact on communities, on climate and our society?’ We see this increasing awareness lead to more capital being directed to investments that contribute positively to many of today’s global challenges, from climate change and the ever-increasing gap between the haves and have-nots, to depletion of our fertile soils and loss of biodiversity.
The new normal
Apart from impact investing offering investable solutions to addressing today’s global challenges, its rise serves another very important purpose: changing the way we look at investing. Bringing us back to the very core of investing, which we believe is to serve the real needs in society, the real economy.
By making impact investing the new normal, we can spur systemic change in the global financial markets. Because how we invest defines the world we want to live in.
Recommended reading:
Roadmap for the Future of Impact Investing: Reshaping Financial Markets
