GIIN Investor Forum 2019

Amit Bouri, CEO and co-founder of the GIIN, calls for a greater sense of urgency to address global social and environmental challenges through impact investing in this Financial Times op-ed. He states, “inaction costs, not just in money but in people’s lives” and emphasizes the need for significant, sustained investment. Starting today” to help solve these issues.

Following the launch of CBRE Global Investors, a social and affordable housing fund, Maha Khan Phillips explores the subsector of impact real estate in this IPE Real Assets article. Referencing statistics from the GIIN Performance of Real Assets Impact Investments report, Phillips believes that there is a strong opportunity for more impact investments in real estate, in part because of the current lack of adequate accommodations for the homeless. Abhilash Mudaliar, director of research at the GIIN, speaks positively of this potential for growth, referencing the growing contingent investing both “for business performance and investment performance.”

In this Thomson Reuters Foundation article, author Mark Haefele of UBS Global Wealth Management details a discussion of impact investing at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, which was largely focused on using the practice as a tool to support the SDGs. Haefele pinpoints several factors currently preventing impact investing from reaching its full potential and proposes ways of mitigating these roadblocks. He concludes by stating that work by the WEF and other organizations to strengthen investment standards and increase awareness of “opportunities to do well while doing good” can draw more private investors to the space and eventually help to close the current SDG funding gap.

In this Barron’s article, Abby Schultz reports on the launch of Y Analytics, a private benefit corporation grown out of The Rise Fund by TPG, which is a new analytical platform that uses previous impact measurement and management (IMM) research to allow investors to account for impact in growth stage companies before making an investment. Schultz also quotes Kelly McCarthy, the GIIN’s Director of Impact Measurement and Management, about how the new platform’s approach complements other tools and developments within the IMM space.

ImpactAlpha provides a critical analysis of Y Analytics, an impact measurement arm of TPG Growth’s Rise Fund, recently launched by TPG Growth and Bono at the Davos World Economic Forum. Some concerns have been raised regarding the methodology, which attempts to put a monetary value on social impact, including that it may rely too heavily on studies rather than feedback and that it is too divergent from current industry norms. However, as mentioned in a quote from Kelly McCarthy, the GIIN’s Director of Impact Measurement and Management, strengthening impact measurement and management and working to create common standards will be a positive externality of Y Analytics’ work.

This article summarizes key takeaways from an OECD report urging for stricter measurements of impact investing funds. As the number of social investment funds has quadrupled over the past twenty years, concerns over impact washing and good intentions without real demonstration of impact have mounted. In light of this “excitement in the sector”, the OECD calls for a common understanding to streamline impact measurement and for straightforward standards to be set “by people who understand the issues.” 

In this interview with Business Insider, Bill and Melinda Gates reflect on the work of their eponymous foundation since its founding twenty years ago, namely the investment of $10 billion into global health initiatives. The Gates express concern over wealthy countries’ level of fixation on domestic issues, and urge governments to remember their commitments to global health. The couple explains the impact and value of these investments relative to other poverty-related initiatives, saying that “an investment in health is more valuable than just about any other a person can make” because “health is what then allows people to go on and get a great education and participate fully and reach their full potential.”

In this article, the Financial Timestraces the growth of socially responsible investing from the creation of Phillips Van-Heusen’s pension fund in 1974 to overcoming the roadblocks caused by the “doctrine of shareholder primacy” to the practice’s more mainstream position today. Author Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson emphasizes the importance of improving and spreading the practice of “purpose-first” investing as businesses are increasingly involved and positioned to address social and environmental issues which many governments are not prepared to address on their own. He highlights the potential for leaders of the business and finance industries to “lead on some of society’s most pressing issues” and encourages them to shape a model of capitalism that will allow them to do so successfully and responsibly.  

As a new year began with more investors focused on impact than ever before, Bloomberg’s Emily Chasan and Eric Roston named nine questions believed to be focal points for socially responsible investors in 2019. The themes predicted to be central to the industry this year center on diversity and the environment as well as advances in technology and investing practices.

This two-part feature focuses on the growth of impact investing in the Asia-Pacific region, pinpointing it as an example of the practice’s potential. Author Queena N. Lee-Chua details the influence of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in the region, the rise of gender lens investing in the region, and highlights the work of individual organizations and success stories in particular countries and sectors. 

Continue reading about the rise of impact investing in Southeast Asia here: https://m.inquirer.net/business/262801