Become more knowledgeable about the field. Several resources are readily available, including:

• The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing. Their website includes an online impact investing resource center that features research, news clippings, events, useful links, and GIIN publications about impact investing.

• The ImpactAssets 50 is a screened roster of private debt and equity fund managers offering impact investment strategies across a variety of asset classes, issue areas, and geographic areas. The IA 50 is available online at www.impactassets.org and focuses on filtering for track record and commitment to impact investing at the firm level and is a starting place for investors and their advisors who are looking for credible firms across thematic areas of impact investing.

• Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference, co-authored by Jed Emerson and Antony Bugg-Levine, is the first book on the topic of impact investing and charts the growth of the field while explaining the “blended value” proposition for investors, funders, and entrepreneurs.

Know what is available to your clients:

• Find out if your firm offers sustainable investment products. These may be ESG (environmental, social, governance) or socially responsible mutual funds, community development bond funds, or Calvert Foundation’s Community Investment Note.

• Identify a community development bank in your area. Using these institutions for basic checking and savings can be an easy first step to put a client’s money to work for positive local impact.

• For clients with philanthropic capacity, there are donor-advised funds such as ImpactAssets’ Giving Fund that specialize in impact investing and offer a range of private debt and equity impact investment options. These funds interface directly with financial advisors, allowing them to maintain management of assets.

• Talk to peers who have been helping clients incorporate impact investing into their portfolios and learn from their experiences.

Talk with your clients: