Category: Guides

This piece offers succinct, actionable insights for families interested in investing with a gender lens.
Over a dozen interviews with gender lens investors provided wisdom for this publication about
how and why families use gender as a factor of analysis in their investment decisions. Readers can
use their experiences and stories to understand and seize the diverse opportunities for considering
gender in investment decision-making.

This report offers information for families at all starting points, ranging from families who want to use a gender lens to spot potential opportunities for market outperformance, families who want to use gender as the central focus of their investment thesis, and those who want to blend it into an existing impact strategy.

What do people really mean when they talk about “impact investing?” Why do people make
impact investments, and how do they do it? What counts, and what doesn’t?
This primer provides family enterprises* with clear explanations of the “why,” “how,” and
“what” of impact investing. This report will illuminate the diversity of the impact
investing marketplace as it exists today and provide families with a basic understanding of
how they can start making more impact investments more effectively.

Families can make private equity investments that help generate social and environmental impact
at scale. By investing growth capital in fast-growing, intrinsically impactful businesses or by
improving the social and environmental impact of mature operating businesses, private equity
investors can generate commercial financial returns and address critical global challenges.
The purpose of this primer is to explore various private equity strategies families use to achieve
their overall impact and financial objectives. This document is intended to be explanatory and not
a source of investment advice.

Fixed income (FI) is a cornerstone of traditionally balanced investment portfolios, offering stable
income, varying liquidity, and a relatively low risk profile. Given the prevalence and diversity of FI
investment opportunities, families who wish to create or expand an impact investment portfolio
may find FI to be a good place to start.

Families are making FI impact investments across sectors, geographies, and return profiles.
The purpose of this primer is to explore the different ways families make FI impact investments in
order to achieve their impact and financial objectives. This primer is intended to be explanatory,
and not a source of investment advice.

Real assets can create a tangible, enduring impact. By investing in affordable housing, green
buildings, and sustainable land management, families can generate positive, physical change in
communities they care about most.

Several ImPact member families are using assets they already own, such as family farms or real
estate companies, to create measurable social and environmental impact. Other families are
making new impact investments in real assets as part of their general asset allocation. Real asset
investments are particularly well-suited for investors whose impact objectives include supporting
underserved communities, enhancing resource efficiency, or improving sustainable food and fiber
systems.

The purpose of this primer is to explore various real asset impact investing strategies families use to achieve their overall impact and financial objectives. This document is intended to be exploratory
and not a source of investment advice.

Early-stage impact investments can be a powerful tool for scaling businesses that are designed to
make money and have measurable social impact. Though investments in mission-driven startups
are risky, they can generate extraordinary financial returns while enabling innovative businesses
to address critical social and environmental problems.

Early-stage impact investing can help preserve a family’s sense of collective purpose and cultivate
entrepreneurial spirit across multiple generations. The tangibility, excitement, and mission clarity
of early-stage impact investments often appeal to younger family members and can help engage
them in the management of family assets.

The purpose of this primer is to explore the different early-stage impact investing strategies families use to achieve their overall impact and financial objectives. This document is intended to be explanatory and not a source of investment advice.

Many of The ImPact’s member families are inspired by the opportunity to invest for impact in emerging markets. Investments in these markets have extraordinary potential to create social and environmental impact. These opportunities also present new and sometimes complex legal considerations. The goal of this primer is to provide families with a summary of the important issues and an outline of the key questions to ask their local and international counsel when making international impact investments.

This primer contains two parts: Part one explores the critical role that local counsel plays in appropriately assessing, structuring, and managing investments. It also explains how an understanding of local legal systems and cultures can facilitate better managed transactions. Part two of the primer outlines the questions families should discuss with their local counsel before entering into an international investment agreement.

By no means does this primer exhaust all the potential legal issues that may arise within cross-border impact investments. Rather, it is intended to be a tool for families to use as they conduct their due diligence and engage local legal counsel. This primer is the product of a partnership between The ImPact and New York University Law School’s International Transactions Clinic. The authors of this primer are Monica Hernandez and Claire Bang, advised by Professor Deborah Burand.

Public equity is a core component of a diversified investment portfolio. Public equity investments
may offer liquidity, dividend income, and/or appreciation in value. For decades, asset owners have
worked to align their public equity investments with their values. Today, many investors in public
equity consider social and environmental issues in their investment selection processes. Given the
diversity and demonstrable track records of these strategies, families may find public equity to be
an accessible asset class as they develop impact investment portfolios.

Families can make public equity impact investments in several ways. First, they can screen their
portfolios according to ethical or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. Second,
they can invest in specific public companies whose products or services directly address social and
environmental challenges. Third, they can engage in shareholder activism to encourage companies
in which they are invested to improve ESG practices.

The purpose of this primer is to explore the different public equity impact investment strategies
that families use to achieve their overall impact and financial objectives. This document is intended
to be explanatory, and not a source of investment advice.

A foundation is a powerful platform through which families can express their values in society.
Yet, most families only use a small portion of their foundation assets to pursue their philanthropic
missions. Funding solutions to the world’s toughest challenges requires far more resources than
are available through foundations’ grantmaking alone.

As families grapple with the scale of these challenges, many are seeking ways to activate more of their philanthropic assets towards their missions. Impact investing is a powerful tool for maximizing a foundation’s assets for good. This primer is a guide for families looking to align and activate their foundation’s assets to achieve their social and environmental objectives while meeting their foundation’s financial needs.