February 2022 | Field News & Resources
This page features this month's highlights, announcements, resources, and general news related to advancements in the impact investing field.
- This article spotlights innovative investments by Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) along with other Community Development Financial Institution (CDFIs) that have helped provide access to medical services in rural communities.
- Wharton’s Katherine Klein interviews Maoz (Michael) Brown, head of research for the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, about his recent study, which reveals it is common practice for impact investors to report metrics primarily to market their success, rather than to evaluate and understand where their impact may fall short. Brown attributes this practice to the challenges of measuring impact rigorously while simultaneously running an investment fund, offers recommendations for measuring impact, and explains why the field needs to get more comfortable with impact underperformance in order to learn and grow.
- Morningstar Inc., has removed "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)" tags from over 1200 funds, representing more than $1 trillion in assets, after determining that they were not delivering on their stated ESG goals.
- A deep dive into East Bay Community Foundation's strategy for using Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) also looks at how the Foundation has worked to center equity and racial justice in its investment practices and beyond.
- In an article in Impact Alpha, Fran Seegull of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance recaps noteworthy developments in the Biden-Harris administration over the past year with respect to leveraging private capital for public good, and outlines bipartisan opportunities to keep the momentum going.
- Arctaris Impact Investors is working with municipal authorities, foundations, and broadband utilities to construct new fiber broadband networks in economically distressed areas in Maine to provide access to affordable, inclusive, and high-speed broadband. Arcatris has also worked with current MIE member The Colorado Health Foundation to expand broadband solutions to build digital equity throughout Colorado.
- This article spotlights how William Penn Foundation, a place-based funder in Philadelphia, is utilizing program-related investments as a tool to support conservation projects in the Delaware River watershed.
- Forbes provides a synopsis of the 2022 Sustainable & Impact Investing Review which was based on a survey that explored the impact investing landscape from the family office perspective, reviewing families’ unique approaches through various case studies. The review shares four steps family offices can consider when first getting involved in impact investing: explore the landscape, identifying investment opportunities, strategize execution of your investments, and establish key success criteria as evaluation metrics prior to execution.
- ImpactAlpha highlights the expectations versus the reality of ESG investments for impact investors. While many consider an ESG baseline for their investments, the GIIN calls for investors to “build beyond” a baseline and consider how to sustain impactful investments throughout a rapidly changing world in order to create an inclusive, sustainable world that supports a healthy economy.
