Impact investing in private opportunities is growing by leaps and bounds, according to a report on socially and environmentally responsible funds.
ImpactAssets announced that fund managers included in the seventh annual ImpactAssets50 nearly tripled their assets managed in 2017 compared with the previous year. An estimated $29.2 billion in assets were managed by IA 50 funds in 2017.
The assets under management nearly tripled that of previous years and last year’s total was the largest in IA 50s seven-year history at $10.6 billion, a sourced said.
The IA 50 is a publicly available database providing insights on private funds for investors and their financial advisors.
“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.”
This year’s announcement noted that the six largest funds in its database each held more than $1 billion in assets under management. In what may be a sign of a maturing impact investing space, experienced fund managers were well-represented on the list, with 32 of the IA 50 operating for ten years or more.
Higher levels of diversity in private impact fund management were also recorded in 2017. More than half of the funds on the list reported that women and other underrepresented groups accounted for 50 percent or more of their management teams.
Larger funds that invest in international environmental efforts include the Nature Conservancy, Adobe Capital, Living Cities, the Local Support Initiative, Better Ventures and the ImpactAssets Giving Fund.
Adobe Capital, which manages $50 million in assets and is sponsored by New Ventures, aims to empower communities and create employment opportunities. Adobe Capital’s first fund invested in healthcare, education, housing, and alternative energy. Adobe Capital’s profile describes it as a business acceleration platform for small to medium businesses concentrating on social and environmental companies in Latin America and Mexico.
The database offers urban renewal and infrastructure-investing options like Local Initiative Support Corporation, which has over $17 billion invested capital for the development of urban and rural communities, and $315 million in total assets available for investing in its communities.