A report by the World Economic Forum Investors Industries Prepared in collaboration with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu New Report: Bringing Impact Investing From the Margins to the Mainstream – World Economic Forum report highlights the potential of impact investing to generate market returns while addressing key social and environmental challenges – 79% of impact investors are already targeting market rates of return; to reach a 2020 market projection of more than US$ 500 billion, the impact investment sector needs to grow significantly – The report engaged 150 mainstream investors, business executives and policy-makers, advancing the Forum’s impact investment agenda
Over the last few years, much excitement has been generated around the term “impact investing” – an investment approach that intentionally seeks to create both financial return and measurable positive social or environmental impact. Despite the buzz, there is limited consensus among mainstream investors and specialized niche players on what impact investing is, what asset classes are most relevant, how the ecosystem is structured and what constraints the sector faces. As a result, there is widespread confusion regarding what impact investing promises and ultimately delivers.
This report is a result of engaging over 150 mainstream investors business executives, philanthropic leaders and policy-makers through interviews, workshops and conference calls. The overall objective of the Mainstreaming Impact Investing initiative is to provide an initial assessment of the sector and identify the factors constraining the acceleration of capital into the field of impact investing.
File Name: wefiifrommarginsmainstreamreport2013