Guidance for Pursuing Impact in Listed Equities

The GIIN released new guidance to help investors achieve impact in public equity investments. Developed with input from over 100 investors, Guidance for Pursuing Impact in Listed Equities uses the GIIN's Core Characteristics of Impact Investing to provide baseline practices and expectations for asset managers seeking to achieve positive impacts in listed equities.

The guidance is structured around four main aspects of listed equities impact investing: setting fund/portfolio strategy, portfolio design and selection, engagement and performance data usage. Additionally, it introduces two key concepts, investor contribution and theory of change, that investors should consider when designing and managing listed equities impact funds.

The project began with the formation of the GIIN’s Listed Equities Working Group in 2019 after the GIIN Investor Survey identified listed equities as one of the fastest-growing asset classes for impact investing. The purpose of this project was to assess how funds targeting the listed equities asset class could engage with impact investing. The working group conducted research to evaluate market trends and engage with fund managers offering investments identified as impact funds to understand their approaches.

Guidance for Pursuing Impact in Listed Equities presents an overview of the approaches investors and fund managers take when pursuing impact in listed equities.