Endowments for Impact Challenge + new Impact Deal Tracker + untapped potential
Message from IIA CEO
Welcome to our latest update with details of our current projects and the impact investing news we’re following.
Following the success of the inaugural Endowments for Impact Challenge, the IIA team is busy working on a State of the Sector Report that will showcase the top mission-aligned investments and highlight areas for industry improvement. We expect to share the report with you in the coming months.
We have just launched the IIA Impact Deal Tracker – an online, updated, go-to resource with the latest and historical impact investment deals and opportunities in and from Australia. I look forward to hearing what you think of this new resource.
It was great to connect with many of you at last month’s Impact Investment Summit. We were thrilled with the response to our frank and fearless panel discussion about the state of impact investing, with lots of honest and unfiltered responses from our panel members and the audience.
As with each monthly newsletter, we provide a snapshot of what’s happening in the impact investing landscape globally, and in this edition, we share recent news out of the UK and Asia.
David
David Hetherington, CEO
Impact Investing Australia
Endowments for Impact Challenge update
Congratulations to Australian Impact Investments and Koda Capital on winning the inaugural Endowments for Impact Challenge – the first-of-its-kind open tender competition that brought together six of Australia’s leading philanthropic trusts and foundations seeking advisors to assist in managing a combined investment pool of $170 million.
You can watch the recording of the Challenge grand finale, where you’ll hear from the six investment advisor finalists and the Expert Panel’s insights at: endowmentsforimpactchallenge.com. Trusts and foundations seeking to invest in line with their mission and values, particularly those that rely on professional investment advice will be interested to watch.
Impact Investing Australia was proud to manage the Challenge of behalf of the participating trusts and foundations. We’re now collaborating with those organisations to produce a State of the Sector Report, highlighting the most outstanding examples of mission-aligned impact investing from the selection process. The report will also identify areas where the industry can improve.
Pictured: (left) Neeraj Aggarwal and Kylie Charlton fromAustralian Impact Investments and (right) Farren Williams and David Knowles from Koda receiving the award for winning the Endowments for Impact Challenge last month.
Our new Impact Deal Tracker – your go-to resource
We’re excited to launch Australia’s only online platform dedicated to tracking the latest impact investing deals and opportunities, both in and from Australia. This comprehensive, searchable database is a valuable resource for institutional investors, trusts, foundations, government bodies, high-net-worth individuals, family offices and potential funders.
Our Impact Deal Tracker offers detailed listings across various deal types (equity investments, funds, loans, and more), asset classes (commodities, bonds, infrastructure, real estate), and areas of impact, making it easier than ever to access relevant information.
With an intuitive, user-friendly interface, the tracker allows you to quickly search, filter and therefore compare deals to find the right opportunities. Each deal added to the tracker is carefully vetted, ensuring reliability and transparency.
Check out the Impact Deal Tracker and let us know what you think.
The untapped potential of impact investing
In our latest story for On Impact, we discuss some of the reasons why many believe the impact investing market has not yet hit its stride here in Australia. The piece summarises comments raised during our panel session at the recent Impact Investment Summit, where assumptions were stripped back, frustrations were aired, and questions were asked as to whether we need to rethink how the sector is defined and executed.
Pictured: Gillian Gordon (JB Were), Rachel Halpern (JANA), Richard Brandweiner (Impact Investing Australia + Australian Ethical Investment) during our Impact Unplugged panel at the Impact Investment Summit.
Government relations during election time
For those seeking to influence government policy to bring about long-lasting social change, our former CEO, Sabina Curatolo, has penned this piece offering principles and approaches during the election phase. As Sabina says, watch out for opportunities where the public discourse aligns with your policy asks, and prepare for the election outcome.
International impact news
Building Asia-Pacific impact investment wholesalers and fund of funds
As the National Partner for Australia at GSG Impact, our CEO, David Hetherington, alongside representatives from DFAT presented at a recent global discussion on impact investment wholesalers and fund of funds in Asia Pacific.
They were among speakers from Japan (GSG Impact Japan & JANPIA) and South Korea(Korea National Partner & SVS Fund) who provided insight into the design and operation of wholesalers. This session aimed to provide a deeper understanding of:
- The latest news on impact investment wholesalers
- Lessons learned from existing models across Asia Pacific
- Opportunities for collaboration and innovation in fund structures
You can watch the recording here (Passcode: p?FSk85*) and see the presentation slides here. You can alsoread GSG Impact’s report on impact investment wholesalers here.
About GSG Impact: Active in over 50 countries, GSG Impact works to progress the transformation of global financial systems, so that every investment, business and government spending decision takes into account impact, as well as risk and return.
Chinese impact investment delegation
Last week, David Hetherington was pleased to welcome to Sydney the Chinese Academy of Financial Inclusion, our Chinese counterparts at GSG Impact. David was joined by DFAT’s Australian Development Investments, Australian Sustainable Finance Institute, Centre for Social Impact, Australian Impact Investments and Australian Ethical Investment. The purpose of the meeting was to share knowledge and insights on ecosystem development in both countries – to help ignite innovation and support the growth of impact investments.
Study shows impact investing delivers stronger returns and lower risk
A new study by Schroders and Oxford’s Saïd Business School finds that impact investing can outperform traditional benchmarks. Analysing 257 companies from 2010 to 2023, the research shows eight in 10 impact portfolios beat the MSCI ACWI IMI index – delivering stronger returns, better risk-adjusted performance, lower market sensitivity and greater resilience in downturns. The findings challenge the idea that impact investing comes at a financial cost, highlighting that revenue from impactful products and services can be a key driver of returns. Access the report