Social impact

The first annual Impact Investor Forum brings together an array of pension fund practitioners and industry experts to look at how institutional investors are engaging with the just transition.

The name change comes twelve years after BSC was founded, and more accurately reflects the organisation’s areas of focus and long-term mission, it says.

The new venture fund will invest in European early-stage startups in the climate tech, impact infrastructure and inclusion tech sectors, led by diverse founders who are often overlooked by financial institutions.

The joint loan to a sustainable marine tourism company will benefit local workers and reduce the environmental impact of visitors to the archipelago off the coast of Ecuador.

London CIV, Big Society Capital and Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust among investors behind the £123m first close of Savills’ Simply Affordable Homes fund which aims to help tackle the country’s rental crisis.

Signatories including impact investors and sector organisations outline measures they say should be implemented to boost private investment targeting poverty in the UK. 

Without catalytic investors, entrepreneurs and impact fund managers would find it impossible to build the track record needed to scale their models and maximise impact, writes Social Nest Foundation’s Vásquez del Solar.

The investment is London-based M&G’s second in Greencore Homes, having previously taken a majority stake in the builder of modular, low carbon homes.

More government funding directed towards homelessness funds would facilitate big-ticket investments from private institutions, the social investor says.

Mark Hall, place-based impact investing specialist at the Impact Investing Institute, analyses a landmark move that sets a precedent for other mainstream banks to follow.