The Fall issue of Cliff Feigenbaum’s Green Money Journal has an interesting article on “impact investing,” the term used to describe direct investments that that explicitly seek to achieve both financial return and social impact.
A November 2010 report by JPMorgan and the Rockefeller Foundation, titled Impact Investments: An Emerging Asset Class, estimates the size of this market segment at between $400 billion and $1 trillion in five sectors alone: housing, rural water delivery, maternal health, primary education, and financial services.
B Lab, the non-profit that certifies companies as B Corporations has already rated 200 companies and 25 funds in its beta phase through its Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS).
A great read for investment advisors and potential investors alike. Check out How Can You Have More Impact with Your Money? Use the new GIIRS.
See also, Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship: A Way Forward, Forbes, 8/29/2011.
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