What is happening in impact investing?

•  A look at the GIIN and its impact
•  An analysis of what’s been going on in the impact investing world
•  A look at the future of impact investing

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)  just released its annual Impact Investor Survey Report, highlighting the health and future of the impact investing industry. The GIIN is a network that strives towards increasing the scale, accessibility, and effectiveness of impact investing operations around the world. The GIIN was founded in 2009 and has been one of the largest voices in the impact investing industry ever since.

Growth In Impact Investing

This year’s GIIN report was overwhelmingly positive, showing signs indicating life and sustained growth in impact investing. 

The first main takeaway was that the impact investing industry is becoming increasingly secure due to its diversity. Investor objectives are healthily split between social and environmental goals. Fund managers and other executives are based out of a plethora of developed markets, mostly in North America and Europe. Most importantly, impact assets are spread throughout a wide selection of industries including energy, microfinance, education, agriculture, and healthcare.

The second key point of the report was that the impact investing industry is continually maturing. Survey respondents that have participated for at least four years have grown their assets from 37 billion USD to 69 billion USD. This growth was seen in a range of locations, including the booming South Asian economy, and is projected to continue growing. Early estimates predict that the volume of capital may grow 13% during 2019!

The increasing importance of Impact Investing!

The third main finding displays the growing importance of impact measurement. Investors are beginning to view impact measurement as being increasingly important to their strategies and goals. A majority of respondents view measurable social and environmental impact as a motivator at their jobs. Impact isn’t just a buzzword either. Almost all respondents measure their impact using metrics and qualitative information with standards that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The most common impact themes are economic growth, reducing poverty, and reducing inequality. The fourth key finding also reinforces the importance of impact investing: “Impact investors report performance in line with both financial and impact expectations.”

Sunny Skies Ahead!

The fifth and most important point is that impact investors are dedicated to the continued success of the industry. Over ⅘ of respondents stated that they made actions that went directly towards the future of impact investing. These actions included things like assisting the development of businesses and groups striving for impact, training people already in the finance sector, and sharing effective strategies for impact management and measurement. 

The impact investment industry is fairly new but it’s already been a huge success. Investors are getting positive returns, positive impact is being made, and the future is extremely bright! Join Physis to be a part of the change that’s changing the world!

References: https://thegiin.org/assets/GIIN_2019%20Annual%20Impact%20Investor%20Survey_webfile.pdf