Setting up an impact fund: a comprehensive guide

Impact investing is increasingly popular, but what qualifies as an impact investment? How can we quantify our impact? Together with Hogan Lovells and Time Partners, we’ve created a new in-depth guide to address such questions and provide clear steps towards setting up an impact fund.

Changes in the international regulatory landscape, together with the COVID-19 pandemic, have accelerated investors’ interest in impact investing. We are seeing consistent growth by any metric: the volumes of capital deployed, the sophistication of impact measurement, and the diversity of stakeholders involved.

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) envisions a future in which social and environmental considerations are woven into the fabric of investment decisions by default— and while we aren’t there yet, impact investments are an increasingly common part of a robust overall strategy.

The value proposition behind impact investing is undeniably exciting, while the rapid rate of change has put increasing pressure on organisations to provide more transparency around ESG and impact reporting. Establishing a solid base of knowledge and a consistent reporting framework has become a top priority for alternative asset managers, corporate entities and private investors.

What qualifies as an impact investment? How can we quantify our impact? For many years, the answers to these questions were decidedly ambiguous. While there is currently no universally accepted standard of measurement, we are seeing the evolution of meaningful frameworks to guide investors and keep firms accountable.

In collaboration with our dedicated partners at Hogan Lovells and Time Partners, IQ-EQ is proud to share a new guide to help shed light on this ambiguity. This detailed guide serves to collate our core knowledge on the subject of impact investing and outline what is required in setting up an impact fund:

Download our impact investing guide

We hope this guide will provide valuable context and a much-needed guidepost for firms, asset managers and investors looking to engage in emerging impact opportunities.

IQ-EQ has a proven track record in assisting impact fund managers. Click here to find out more about our offering.