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FAQs

Why impact investing now?

While impact investing has historically taken place in the private markets, four recent trends have resulted in increasing demand by individual investors who almost exclusively invest via the public market in stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds.

1. Many of these private companies are choosing to go public 🙌🏾
2. Existing public companies are shifting to incorporate positive social and environmental initiatives 👏🏽
3. Growth in the number of investors strategically signaling that impact matters 👊🏼
4. Governments and policymakers are increasingly creating incentives to support positive initiatives. 💲

What's the difference between sustainable investing, socially responsible investing or ESG investing?

These other terms are useful, but we have three goals that only ‘impact investing’ addresses:

• To focus on an investment strategy (not a framework)
• To educate our audience in a way that is actionable–Choose your impact
• To be inclusive of companies working to make positive changes, regardless of industry.

For context:

Sustainable investing and socially responsible investing (SRI) are often used interchangeably with impact investing, with adjustments made for specific company, policy or industry focus.

Values-based Investing is an umbrella term that encompasses impact investing, sustainability investing, socially responsible investing (SRI); and, environmental, social and governance (ESG). This term does a great job, but somewhat lacks real marketing punch.

ESG was initiated as a framework, not an investment strategy. ESG (environmental, social and governance) helps us understand how a company manages risks and opportunities around sustainability issues. It looks into the past and provides an evaluation. ‘ESG investing’ often focuses on eliminating industries from portfolios.

What kind of returns can I expect?

An impact or sustainable investing strategy is used to target a wide range of returns from below market to market rate, depending on investors’ strategic goals and risk tolerance. A financial advisor can help steer you to investments that are suitable and review the potential returns of each.

How did you choose which industry segments to focus on?

We use the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) organization as our main authority for defining our segments.

The growing impact investment market provides capital to address the world’s most pressing challenges in sectors such as sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, conservation, microfinance, and affordable and accessible basic services including housing, healthcare, and education.