Is the field of impact investing growing in a healthy way, or is it being co-opted by firms for whom positive impact is secondary to asset gathering?
In this episode of The New Private Markets Podcast, we explore this fundamental question with Jed Emerson, a true veteran of the impact field, an author of multiple books and papers on the topic, and until April of this year, the chief impact officer for US wealth management firm AlTi Tiedemann Global. He's also the founder of Blended Value Group and holds a number of advisory positions.
The conversation was prompted by a lively online debate surrounding coverage of New Private Markets' Impact 50, in which Emerson had questioned the link between the dollar size of a fund and the size of its impact. You can read about the online exchange here, and you can read about the Impact 50 here.
We also touch on the distinction between NPM's Impact 50 and Impact Assets' IA 50, a different resource for investors in the impact space with which Emerson has been involved for more than a decade.
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Understanding impact's financial performance with Schroders
Financial performance is the key issue that will determine the viability of impact investing at scale in the long term. Given the relative youth of most impact funds, it is a topic still open to debate.
Asset manager Schroders has been examining the performance of its impact investments. The UK-headquartered firm released a study in collaboration with Oxford University’s Business School earlier this year which examined impact’s performance in listed equities. It has now released further research focused on private equity. Read NPM's coverage of the findings here.
The results are positive: private equity impact investments have outperformed the wider buyout and growth markets over the last decade.
In this episode, we speak to Schroders' co-head of impact management Catherine Macaulay and head of sustainability and impact for PE Paul Lamacraft to get their perspective on the findings.
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APG and Colesco on the rise of impact credit
When it comes to impact, private credit is often considered to be lagging behind other private markets asset classes. There are, however, signs that this is changing. Debt funds to hold a final close raised a combined $5 billion in 2024, the second-highest total of any asset class behind private equity.
Dutch institution APG Asset Management is one major LP to turn its attention to impact debt. The €616 billion fund recently moved into infrastructure debt with an impact focus and is considering buying impact credit assets in the US.
APG was one of the cornerstone investors in sustainable lending debutant Colesco, which raised €800 million for a mid-market European lending strategy with “a mission to unite capital and purpose”, the firm announced earlier this year. The Dutch firm, established in 2023, is seeking to raise between €1 billion and €1.5 billion. At €800 million, it has already become the largest private debt impact fund of its kind.
In this episode of The New Private Markets Podcast, we speak to Menno van den Elsaker, head of alternative credits at APG, and Colesco CIO Danny Vroegop to discuss the growth of the impact lending market, how LPs are approaching it, and where the opportunities for investors are.
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Brookfield's Adomait on 'a fantastic time to invest'
Learn more about the Impact Investor Global Summit in London here
Don't be put off by political noise. Reduced competition and growing demand for energy has made investment in US renewable energy generation easier and more attractive, says Natalie Adomait, managing partner and chief operating officer in Brookfield's renewable power and transition group.
Adomait is one of the speakers at the Impact Investor Global Summit on May 20th and 21st in London. In this pre-event special episode of The New Private Markets Podcast, we speak with her about the firm's two giant energy transition funds, interest in emerging markets, and how actions taken by the Trump administration have affected market dynamics.
"For us, this is a fantastic time to invest," she said. "You see a little less competition from investors looking at these large developers that have strong track records, incumbent teams and ready-to-build projects. But there is less competition for them, despite the fact that the demand growth is actually increasing from where we saw it five to 10 years ago. It's easier [to transact], is the short answer, but the more interesting undertone is that it is actually more attractive."
At our upcoming event, Adomait will be speaking on a panel on the economics of the energy transition alongside Anders Bendsen Spohr from Novo Holdings and Stephanie Bilo from ResponsAbility Investments. Marjoleine van der Peet from Collective Action will chair the discussion.
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Summit preview special: What goes into a good impact strategy?
How do you create an impact strategy that passes muster with LPs? The question is on the agenda for both our upcoming Impact Investor Global Summit in London in May and for this special event preview episode of The New Private Markets Podcast.
Ben Constable Maxwell is head of impact strategy at UK-based global investor M&G Investments. The organisation sits on both sides of the LP-GP relationship, managing its own impact strategies in private equity and private credit, as well as backing other GPs through fund of funds programmes.
At out upcoming event, Constable Maxwell will be participating alongside representatives from the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, APG Global Private Equity, Portocolom and Golding Capital Partners, discussing what managers need to do to create a robust impact investment proposition.
In this episode, he takes us on a whistle-stop tour from the high-level philosophical aspects of impact investing through to the more prosaic elements that GPs need to have in place. He also tells us how the headwinds blowing in the face of sustainable investment are reaffirming the resolve and commitment of investors, rather than undermining it.
The New Private Markets Podcast focuses exclusively on sustainability issues in private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate and infrastructure. Join the editorial team behind New Private Markets as they pick through the sustainability trends shaping these asset classes, from ESG to impact and beyond, with help from industry insiders
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