In assessing this nascent industry, survey participants said the top challenge to growth was its lack of a track record. The next major challenges were shortage of quality investment opportunities and inadequate impact measurement practices. Other potential growth obstacles cited include lack of common vernacular for talking about impact investing, few exit opportunities and insufficient collaboration among investors.
The general consensus among respondents (75%) was that impact investing is in its infancy and still growing. Another 19% believe it's about to take off, while the remaining 6% said it's a lot of talk but not much action. Bouri says that latter number doesn't surprise him.
"It echoes our perspective on where the market is," he notes, adding that despite the tangible actions and momentum generated by impact investments, it's an area that's still far from reaching its potential.
"Some respondents felt the talk was too far ahead of the activity," Bouri says. "But it's encouraging that a greater number of people feel it's about to take off."