Your impact investing journey: Measuring and managing your impact investments

A common debate in impact investing circles is over the best way to quantify, and/or qualify, the non-financial impact of an investment. Indeed, there are now a myriad of approaches and metrics, each with its strengths and weaknesses. Our approach is guided by the belief that by providing investors with a holistic picture of the impact of their investments, we can better guide them along their impact investing journey and make tactical changes over time. 

The impact outcomes for an investment can vary widely. Consider that for many investments, the impact component may not be realized for several months if not years after the initial investment is made. This is especially true of investments in sectors like education or healthcare where the biggest outcomes may not be easily visible for a decade or more. For example, an investment in a company that provides affordable contraceptive devices for rural villagers in sub-Saharan Africa may have a transformative impact on those individuals and the communities in which they live. But measuring this social impact is challenging without deep, on-the-ground research comparing health and economic outcomes in a village that receives contraceptive devices versus a village that doesn’t. Such a study would likely need to last for many years to generate reliable data. Read Full Article - Impactalpha, August 1, 2019