Investment products such as social bonds and green energy stocks can act as a “Trojan Horse” to convince the finance industry about the benefits of using capital to make a positive impact, said experts at an impact investing event in September.

HSBC Global Asset Management is making its first foray into ‘natural capital’, with plans to launch a new asset management firm dedicated to investing in natural assets in partnership with specialist climate change advisory and investment firm Pollination.

Impax Asset Management says there will be “winners and losers” in the economic transition to a more sustainable economy, as trends continue to be accelerated in the post-pandemic rebuilding process. 

The first ever practical blueprint for “net zero investing” has been issued by Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), to help investors maximise the contribution they make in tackling climate change.

There are significant barriers for the impact investing world to overcome if the strategy is to gain substantial investment from institutional players, according to a new whitepaper from CAMRADATA on impact investing. 

A rash of financial institutions have recently made headlines with grand donations and initiatives to improve diversity within their firms, in response to the protests over the killing of George Floyd that gripped cities across the US and beyond. 

The international business of Federated Hermes was recently assessed by Real Impact Tracker, which certifies institutions most committed to Impact, and achieved the highest score in the history of its certification.

The impact investing market is thriving. Asset managers from across the spectrum of the industry are buying into the trend, raising funds to invest in projects that aim to make positive social or environmental change, as well as a strong financial return.

MAPFRE AM, the asset management arm of the Spanish insurance group, is joining forces with Global Social Impact Investments SGIIC (GSI) to launch the Global Social Impact Fund (GSIF). A new investment vehicle which aims to raise EUR50 million for high social impact companies in both frontier and emerging markets.

Candriam has launched Candriam SRI Equity Circular Economy Fund. The circular economy concept provides an alternative to the current linear economic model, the "take, make, dispose” model, by avoiding waste and reducing the need for virgin raw materials. It seeks to increase resource efficiencies through the re-use or recycling of materials.