Family Office News.. Spotlight on Good Impact Investing

Is Impact Investing The Holistic Approach?

On November 7th in Beverly Hills, the Global Family Office Community held its inaugural USA Family Office Conference.

What is Impact Investing?

Impact investing is defined as investing made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. In addition to financial returns, the impact is measured with standalone metrics or industry standards set by GIIN such as IRIS and GIIRS. Some investors also map their portfolio to the UN SDGs.

Some investors prioritize impact first while other finance first. This creates the perception that impact investing does not yield the same returns as traditional investing. However, research has shown that you don’t need to give up returns for impact.

Some investors and foundations like the heron foundation have shifted 100% of their assets towards impact thereby aligning their philanthropy mission and a holistic approach to its execution.

How to start

Today a vast majority of investors say they want to invest to create a positive impact but it is not always easy, here are a few resources if you want to get started.

1. Get information

Numerous reports and resources are available, including from GIIN WEF Impact assets, EMPA Standford Social innovation Review and many others.

2. Attend Conferences

Socap in San Francisco is one of the largest global conferences. In addition, Katapult, GIIN, WEF, High Water Women, Aspen Institute, Confluence, Opportunity Collaboration equally bring together key actors.

3. Connect with your peers

Family offices, investors and next-gen groups, Nexus, gratitude railroad, Toniic CREO the Impact and various family office groups have an impact investing focus pushed by the younger generations in the intragenerational dialogue around values. All these groups also have regular gatherings and working groups for their members to connect.

4. Ask your Financial intermediaries

Wealth management firms have now teams dedicated to this activity and you will also find numerous independent advisors that specialize in impact investing and also manage funds.

Conclusion : Impact investing is here to stay

Today the younger generation wants to make its mark in the world. Impact investing is not only a movement it’s becoming a way of life: the way the next generation wants to create sustainability and a more equitable world by aligning their values with their consumption habits, companies they work for or build and transforming existing family businesses towards more sustainable practices.

By Vanessa Grellet

Executive Director ConsenSys, 

President Blockchain for Social Impact coalition 

Co-chair of Nexus Blockchain Labs

Founding Chair of the Nexus Impact Investing Working Group