Impact Investing… How investors are changing the world

Since the 2008-09 financial crisis, the term “impact investing” has grown from an exciting and disruptive concept into a vibrant and complex investment ecosystem. Today, the market size of the global impact investment universe is estimated at over USD 500 billion – with the industry playing a pivotal role to channel both public and private capital into companies, organisations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside financial returns.

Members of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), a non-profit group that promotes the industry, have witnessed average annual growth in assets of nearly 17 per cent in the past four years. The industry is also attracting new players -- including global investment firms such as KKR, Blackstone and TPG -- with more than half of the institutions in GIIN’s research making their first impact investment in the past decade.

Despite the recent buzz, the global impact investment industry is still relatively new and, on an international scale, still relatively small. As time progresses and the industry expands, the growing pains also need to be addressed. The 2020 MASIC Annual Investment Forum will therefore explore the rapid growth of impact investing; discuss the opportunities and challenges of impact-driven investment strategies; and debate what the industry’s growing prominence means for the long-term investment landscape.