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Conventional investing is all about diversification and maximizing returns. While both of these are still fundamental, some investors also want to use their economic influence to drive meaningful change. As these investors make financial decisions informed by both heart and mind, traditional barriers between making money and making a difference are dissolving. That’s good news for young companies that are seeking "angel investors" for capital.

More than $80 trillion of wealth is expected to be transferred within families over the next two decades. Given the rise in wealth and aging populations globally, the number of family offices has surged to help guide succession planning and the transfer of assets. This brief outlook further highlights the investing trends impacting the path forward for families and family offices that is shifting as the next generation potentially reorients family goals toward qualitative objections (mission-driven) in addition to quantitative metrics (investment returns).

In an era marked by unprecedented wealth transfer and shifting societal dynamics, philanthropy is being called to actively adjust to a new reality. In the middle of all this, younger people are starting to have a bigger say in where philanthropic money goes. They care more about equity, inclusion, and transparency, as well as changing systems that cause problems.

For the wealth owners—and the family offices managing their assets—the opportunities that impact investing presents are arguably greater than for any other type of investor. While impact investing is a natural fit for family offices, most are still working out where to start—mulling over issues like how to source deals and measure impacts. In order to help them in this quest, we have captured the questions that family offices ask most frequently about impact investing and provided responses to create a thorough and accessible how-to guide on impact investing for family offices.

When it comes to investing with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns in mind, there’s the aim to help foster positive change in the world through the lens of one’s personal values. Since it can be hard to decipher the news about ESG investing, here is a breakdown of some frequent ESG misconceptions and answers that address four questions: (1) Is ESG investing only for environmentalists? (2) Can ESG investing go beyond excluding certain investments? (3) Will ESG investors outperform the market? (4) How should you start investing with ESG in mind?

Gender equity investing seeks to invest for financial return while promoting gender diversity throughout the workplace. Though most public market strategies have remained focused on “women in leadership” metrics at the senior management and board of directors’ levels, the field of gender equity investing has expanded to encompass broader outcomes for employees, including resources, policies, and programs that support gender diversity at all levels in the workplace. As gender equity investing evolves, investors can look to three key areas to see what’s next.

Families of wealth often ask for views on two related topics—how to think about philanthropy versus impact investing and how to best implement a socially and/or environmentally impactful investment strategy. While common themes transcend these topics, each is distinct and presents an opportunity by allowing families to engage in a powerful combination of both philanthropy and impact investing.

In this second paper of a two-part series on philanthropy and sustainable investing, we outline how families may wish to identify opportunities within sustainable and impact investing themes.

Sustainability is increasingly material to investment return, and there are five prominent trends—including climate change and technological revolution—that are likely to have relevant implications for investment portfolios over the long term. Ultimately, investors that evolve more quickly to incorporate these risks and opportunities into their investment decision-making frameworks are likely to be better prepared for the future than their