Global impact investment market going strong despite pandemic – GIIN

The $715 billion global impact investing market is maturing, driven by strong performance and better measurement, according to the 2020 survey released Thursday by the Global Impact Investing Network.

The results of this year's annual impact investor survey represent the largest number of respondents in the report's 10-year history — 294 global impact investors with a collective $404 billion of impact investing assets under management.

The estimated $715 billion total size of the impact investing market is based on GIIN's database of more than 1,700 impact investors.

In the 2020 survey, respondents cited increased sophistication of impact measurement and management practices as contributors to the market's growth, and 88% reported meeting or exceeding their financial expectations, while 99% reported meeting or exceeding their impact expectations.

The top sectors for capital allocations reported by respondents are energy and financial services, excluding microfinance. Fifty-five percent are in developed markets and 30% are in North America.

Respondents who also participated in the 2016 survey reported 17% compound annual growth, up to $98 billion from $52 billion.

Of the 294 respondents in this year's survey, 57% said that despite uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis, they are unlikely to change how much capital they will commit to impact investments this year. Nearly half of respondents think their impact performance will meet their expectations, and 18% expect portfolios to outperform on impact, while 16% expect underperformance on impact and 46% expect underperformance against financial expectations.

Amit Bouri, co-founder and CEO of GIIN, noted that the first survey in 2010 followed a global financial crisis. With this latest report, "we find ourselves at a time where the world is once again facing unprecedented challenges," he said in a statement.

"Over the past decade, we have seen incredible growth and increased sophistication in impact investing. Despite challenges or perhaps because of them, many investors have, and will continue to turn to impact investing to contribute to social and environmental solutions," he said. "Investment capital has an important role to play in driving positive impact for our communities and planet, and I believe we'll see even greater possibilities for what impact investing can achieve, in this moment, as well as in the years ahead."