The impact investing session for the Money Management Institute's annual convention in Boston was billed as part of "the next generation of advisory solutions." Yet the time for impact investing is coming quickly.

I moderated a panel that included John Buley from J.P. Morgan, Sean Greene from the Small Business Administration (more on this below), and Stuart Boesky from the Pembrook Group.

Intermediaries from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to First Allied Securities sat in the room as Buley spoke about the $100 million J.P. Morgan has committed to the space with more to follow; as Boesky discussed the real estate opportunities for impact investments in the U.S.; and as Greene announced that the SBA is launching a $1 billion fund for impact investing to help juice small businesses looking to do good.

You read that correctly: The SBA is committing $1 billion to the impact investing space to help grow social enterprises domestically. (see www.sba.gov) This should pique some interest and perk things up in the investment community, especially among private equity and venture capitalists. Effectively, the U.S. government is buttressing the financial positions of small business in the U.S. looking to do good.

Of course impact investing means not only doing good but getting a return on investments-a point Buley said holds internationally as well. So far, he said, so good on the overall ROI front of J.P. Morgan's impact investing portfolio.

It should come as no surprise that more impact investing programs are being launched by broker-dealers, and the big wirehouses are securing first positions in the game. Independent b-ds: Take note.

UBS, for example, recently joined the Global Impact Investing Network, and at least one other major Wall Street firm is putting together a comprehensive program to be unveiled this fall.

Among those who cornered me after the session were HNW intermediaries and FAs who wanted to know how they could launch programs of their own for clients.  

See, my comments revolved around how impact investments create an opportunity for advisors to get a bigger chunk of change from their existing clientele as well as how to prospect using impact investing as an entrée. (Have charitable investments Mr. Client? How 'bout we stop giving that money away and get a return on it instead?)

In my next post, I'll discuss the white paper I wrote on impact investing and where the opportunities lie to garner more assets under management.