hosted by Schroders during #LondonClimateWeek last week. Some insight into the front-running crowd of impact management at scale (- limited in detail because of the insider group):
👉 In general, the positive atmosphere and stand on the market was delightful – in line with the last insights from the German ecosystem, it seems that the market is back and starts growing from here – via collaborative efforts, impact product focus etc.
👉 Impact integrity is becoming harder to verify just as the pressure to demonstrate it grows. Because at the end it is about trust between asset owners and society and the impact investment managers. We see trust is increasingly difficult to built, which means Impact Principles should think about, in my perspective, how to integrate the trust building dialogue into the system.
👉 AI cuts both ways. It can lift the floor of IMM work – structuring evidence, surfacing public data, improving transparency. It can equally produce polished impact narratives that look credible but say little about whether disciplined management is actually happening. In my view, The Principles will need to address this as a question of verification standards, not tooling.
👉 Regulation needs a shared core and the Impact Principles can or even should be a relevant element in this core: With SFDR 2 expected to bring impact investing into scope in EU, after UK and Japan, the case for a globally consistent definition grows stronger. International LPs have a role in helping regulators write rules that fit market practice, and for themselves in reducing the cost of fragmented definitions.
👉 Mainstreaming raises the bar. For many managers, basic impact knowledge is now table stakes. Asset owners want bespoke solutions, not generic labels.
👉 I liked the discussion around climate investing and if this is per se equal to impact investing: Without intentionality and a clear view on investor contribution, it is not.
👉 Where the difference is made: shared IMM practices, capital directed where it matters most (Africa was named repeatedly), and moving past what impact investing is, towards how impact data drives actual investment decisions and generates value.
👉 We were invited with a small group of advisors to join the colleagues. Having a meeting afterwards with us as partly competitors highlighted for me again our joint commitment as advisors. We all want to push the needle on actual impact generation.
👉 Mainstreaming raises the bar. For many managers, basic impact knowledge is now table stakes. Asset owners want bespoke solutions, not generic labels.
Thanks to Maria Teresa Zappia and Schroders for hosting, and to Sean Gilbert, Joohee Rand and the The Global Impact Investing Network for keeping the conversation honest and focused. We saw a great panel and I had several really deep diving discussions during the recepetion!
Nadina Stodiek Ben Thornley BlueMark
