Imfino News

BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 27 - ImpactAssets has released its 2017-18 ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50), a free, online database for investors and financial advisors that features a diversified listing of 50 private capital fund managers that deliver social and environmental impact as well as financial returns. IA 50 users can sort and filter across a range of asset classes (debt, private equity and real estate), geographies, size of funds, themes and more.

“As impact investing grows exponentially, the IA 50 has remained a leading and trusted resource for impact investors of all experience levels,” said Jed Emerson, ImpactAssets Senior Fellow, and IA 50 Review Committee Chair. “Our consistent and objective evaluation of impact fund managers is providing financial advisors and their clients with a starting place to make informed investment decisions. And we are helping to catalyze the growth of impact investing by creating a centralized information source in a fragmented field.”

Fund managers included in the seventh annual IA 50 manage an estimated $29.2 billion in assets devoted to creating measurable, positive impact – nearly triple the assets managed by IA 50 managers in the previous year. This year's showcase includes:

• Larger Funds: Six funds have more than $1 billion in assets under management.
• Deep Experience: A total of 32 out of 50 fund managers have been operating for more than 10 years.
• Diverse Management: Nearly half (48%) of all IA 50 funds have investment management teams with 50% or more women and other under-represented groups.

“The 2017-18 IA 50 highlights a strong field of managers across an increasingly rich marketplace of impact fund opportunities,” said Jennifer Kenning, CEO and Co-Founder of Align Impact, and IA 50 Senior Investment Advisor. “We are excited to see the growth of this space as evidenced by the increasing number of high-caliber fund managers, whose strong financial and impact track records position them to serve the growing investor demand for impact investments.”

In addition to Emerson and Kenning, the IA 50 Review Committee includes impact investment pioneers and leaders, including Karl "Charly" Kleissner, Co-Founder of Toniic and KL Felicitas Foundation; Kathy Leonard, Senior Vice President, Investments and Senior Portfolio Manager for UBS; Stephanie Cohn Rupp, Managing Director, and Partner, Tiedemann Wealth Management; Fran Seegull, Executive Director, U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, Ford Foundation; Liesel Pritzker Simmons and Ian Simmons, Co-Founders of Blue Haven Initiative; Matthew Weatherley-White, Co-Founder and Managing Director of The CAPROCK Group.

“The IA 50 has become the go-to database for insights and actionable data on innovative managers creating impact with investment capital, which is especially valuable for family offices and accredited investors getting started in the impact space,” said Stephanie Cohn Rupp, Managing Director, and Partner at Tiedemann Wealth Management. “We’re thrilled to be helping investors connect their portfolios with their passions and drive capital to impact.”

The IA 50 is not an index or investable platform and does not constitute an offering or recommend specific products. It is not a replacement for due diligence. In order to be considered for the IA 50 2017-18, fund managers needed to have at least $10 million in assets under management, more than 3 years of experience as a firm with impact investing, documented social and/or environmental impact and be available for U.S. investment. Additional details on the selection process are here.

About ImpactAssets

ImpactAssets is a nonprofit financial services firm that increases the flow of capital into investments delivering financial, social and environmental returns. ImpactAssets’ donor advised fund (“The Giving Fund”) and field-building initiatives enable philanthropists, other asset owners and their wealth advisors to advance social or environmental change through investment. The Giving Fund currently has $424M in total assets.

About the ImpactAssets 50

The IA 50 is the first publicly available database that provides a gateway into the world of impact investing for investors and their financial advisors, offering an easy way to identify experienced impact investment firms and explore the landscape of potential investment options. The IA 50 is intended to illustrate the breadth of impact investment fund managers operating today, though it is not a comprehensive list. These 50 firms have been selected to demonstrate a wide range of impact investing activities across geographies, sectors and asset classes.