Impact Investing: Finding the Clear Path

According to a Norwegian linguist, the Sami people living in northern Russia and Scandinavia have 180 words for snow and ice. It seems that there are nearly as many terms for investment strategies designed specifically for societal impact.  A few of the terms being used today include: “socially responsible investing,” “ESG investing,” and “mission‐related investing,” etc.  Unlike the Sami’s 180 terms, each of which has a very specific meaning, there are no widely accepted definitions for impact investing and no dictionary to guide us. This useful white paper dispels some of the investment terminology “noise” and distinguishes the various impact investing strategies from one another.