Once a niche strategy, impact investing is quickly becoming the norm. Plan sponsors and investment committees are held accountable for delivering both monetary and social returns. To meet this dual mandate, investors need a clearly defined roadmap.
The investor community is in agreement that sustainability, impact investing, and ESG all have a role in the future of investing and portfolio construction, but the consensus ends there. The phrase “Impact Investing" means different things to different people, and it's time to develop and agree upon one universal definition. Impact Investing is not divestment, or a choice to exclude certain companies from a portfolio. Rather, it's a conscious decision to invest in companies that have a positive impact on the world or their community.
Investment programs benefit from the different perspectives and ideas that come from a diverse and inclusive workforce. Investors are proactively requesting diversity figures in investment manager searches, and factoring inclusivity and diversity of thought into their selections.
The quest for alpha drives innovation in the financial markets as investors deploy new technologies, data and investment models to access an ever-changing investment landscape. Forward-looking investors require new data analytics, investment structures and risk management models to provide access to new markets and asset classes with a proper balance between risk and long-term returns.