Impacting Investing – The next revolution?

THE BURGUNDY

At the core of the idea of impact, should be the desire to bring about beneficial change to society. As an example, the widespread investment into the technology revolution of the early 2000s yielded tangible and quantifiable improvements to the quality of life in the 21st century. Since then, investors have slowly shifted their attention, and funds, to ESG-compliant investments. ESG investments now account for nearly half of the $100 trillion-dollar global investment industry. Despite this, ESG investments have failed to have as significant an impact as technology. A key issue underpinning this shortcoming has been the lack of standardisation around what ESG investing is. Issues with measuring the impact of ESG investing have only served to compound the issue. Recently, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the appetite for ESG investments has grown even stronger and with it, the calls to ensure that these investments yield a lasting impact. This report explores whether this quest for a more sustainable world will drive the next revolution. More importantly, what needs to be done to ensure that the world shifts its focus towards measuring the impact of these investments.