2017 Annual Impact Investor Survey
Introduction: Please read
The purpose of this annual survey is to learn about your perception of the current and future states of the impact investment market, as well as your organization's impact investing objectives and activities. This data helps the GIIN track the state of the market and trends over time. This is the seventh edition of this survey.
- EligibilityCriteria:This survey is open to organizations that haveeither: a) committed at least USD 10 million to impact investments; AND/OR b) made at least five impact investments.The survey should be completed by the management team with one submission per organization. All questions in the survey should be answered with respect to the impact investment portfolio(s) you manage unless otherwise specified.
- Time Required:Weexpect the survey to take 30-45 minuteswith the right information in hand. You may need to gather this information before completing the survey – please refer to the soft copy of all the questions provided via email. You cansave your work and returnby clicking on the bar along the top of your screen (do not use your browser's back button). Asterisks (*) denote required questions.
- Definition of Impact Investments:Please use the GIIN's definition of impact investments as you answer the survey:impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.They can be made in both emerging and developed markets, and target a range of returns from below market to market rate, depending on the investor's goals. A hallmark of impact investing is the commitment of the investor to measure and report the social and environmental performance of underlying investments.
The GIIN will collect and analyze the data, and findings will be released in a report available to the public. Respondent organizations are given the choice to be acknowledged as survey participants in a list at the back of the report.All data will remain anonymous.Respondents will also receive priority access to the findings. If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Bass .
Organizational Background
This background information will remain confidential and is for the GIIN's own tracking.
1) Your Name and Organization*
First Name: ______
Last Name: ______
Organization: ______
2) Please enter your email address.*
______
3) To ensure we capture the views of active impact investors, this survey is open to organizations that either: a) have committed at least USD 10 million to impact investments; AND/OR b) made at least five different impact investments. Do either or both of these criteria apply to your organization?*
( ) Yes
( ) No
Respondent List
4) Do we have your permission to include your organization’s name in the list of respondents published as an appendix to the report? (All organization-level information will remain anonymous and will not be identified in the report, regardless of your answer to this question.)*
( ) Yes
( ) No
Organizational Information
5) Please select the location of your organization's headquarters:*
( ) East Asia
( ) Eastern Europe, Russia, & Central Asia
( ) Latin America & Caribbean (including Mexico)
( ) Middle East & North Africa
( ) Oceania
( ) South Asia
( ) Southeast Asia
( ) Sub-Saharan Africa
( ) U.S. & Canada
( ) Western, Northern, & Southern Europe
( ) No single headquarter location
6) Please select the category that BEST describes your organization type:*
( ) Bank / Diversified financial institution
( ) Development finance institution (government-backed financial institution investing in the private sector)
( ) Family office
( ) Foundation
( ) Fund manager - for-profit
( ) Fund manager - not-for-profit
( ) Pension fund or Insurance company
( ) Permanent investment company
( ) Other (please specify): ______*
7) Does your organization make conventional (non-impact) investments as well as impact investments?*
( ) Yes
( ) No
LOGIC: If answer to Question 6 is “Fund manager – for-profit” or “Fund manager – not-for-profit”, proceed to Question 8. If any other type, skip to Question 14, Investment Activity Section.
Questions for Fund Managers/GPs
Unless otherwise specified, all questions in the survey should be answered with respect ONLY to your impact investing activities.
8) How much capital did your organization raise during the year 2016?*
Please enter USD in millions. E.g., write "5.5" if USD 5,500,000.
______
9) How much capital does your organization target raising in 2017?*
Please enter USD in millions. E.g., write "5.5" if USD 5,500,000.
______
10) Across all impact investing funds you currently manage, who are your investors in terms of percentage of total capital?*
Please specify the % of total capital for each option. So, for "10%" please enter "10" and not "0.10".
______Bank / Diversified financial institution
______Development finance institution (government-backed financial institution investing in the private sector)
______Endowment (excluding foundations)
______Family office/HNWI
______Foundation
______Fund of funds manager
______Pension fund or Insurance company
______Religious or faith-based institution
______Retail investor
______Sovereign wealth fund
______Other
If you included "other", please specify here:______
11) When marketing impact investments to potential investors, how would you describe the extent of their interest? (Optional)
Not interested in impact investments / Starting to consider impact investments / Developing an impact investing strategy / Allocating capital to impact investments / Not sure or not applicableMost pension funds I speak to are... / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Most insurance companies I speak to are... / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Most banks I speak to are... / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Most foundations I speak to are... / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Most family offices I speak to are... / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Most sovereign wealth funds I speak to are... / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
If you would like to elaborate on your response, please do so here. As always, the GIIN will anonymize your response and may include parts of it in the final report:
______
12) What degree of competition from other impact investment products do you face in raising capital from the following investor types? (Optional)
A lot / Some / A little / None / Not sure or not applicableBank / Diversified financial institution / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Development finance institution / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Endowment (excluding foundations) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Family office / HNWI / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Foundation / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Fund of funds manager / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Pension fund or Insurance company / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Religious or faith-based institution / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Retail investor / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Sovereign wealth fund / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Other (specify) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
If you included "other", please specify here:______
13) What are the main challenges you face in raising capital from investors? For each challenge, please indicate the severity of the challenge for you. (Optional)
Significant challenge / Slight challenge / Not a challenge / Not sure/not applicableDemonstrating viable pipeline of investments / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Demonstrating financial track record / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Demonstrating impact track record / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Investment size being sought by investor is too small / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Investment size being sought by investor is too large / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Fund lacks sector or geographic specialization / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Investor believes there is too much focus on impact performance management / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Investor believes there is too little focus on impact performance management / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Investor does not believe its target returns will be achieved / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Investor is concerned about exit options/liquidity / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
If you would like to elaborate on your response, please do so here. As always, the GIIN will anonymize your response and may include parts of it in the final report:
______
Impact Investment Activity
Unless otherwise specified, all questions in the survey should be answered with respect ONLY to your impact investing activities.
In this section,capital committedrefers to capital your organization has agreed to contribute to a fund or other investment, rather than capital committed to your organizationby another investor. If you are a fund manager, estimate the capital you have committed to investees/projects. For other investors, estimate the capital you have committed to funds and directly to investees/projects.If your organization does not use this term, we have included the option of specifying capital deployed instead.
14) Please state the year your organization made its first impact investment (YYYY).*
______
15) Since inception, approximately how many impact investments has your organization made?*
Specify the number of transactions rather than the number of investees or borrowers.
______
16) Since inception, approximately how much capital has your organization committed or deployed to impact investments?*
Please choose and complete the appropriate box or boxes. If completing both, committed capital should include deployed capital.
Please enter USD in millions. E.g., write "5.5" if USD 5,500,000.
Committed: ______
Deployed: ______
17) During 2016, how many impact investments did your organization make?*
Specify the number of transactions, rather than the number of investees or borrowers.
______
18) During 2016, how much capital did your organization commit or deploy to impact investments?*
Please enter USD in millions. E.g., write "5.5" if USD 5,500,000.
Please choose and complete the appropriate box or boxes. If completing both, committed capital should include deployed capital.
Committed: ______
Deployed: ______
19) In 2017, how many impact investments does your organization plan to make?*
Specify the number of transactions, rather than the number of investees or borrowers.
______
20) In 2017, how much capital does your organization plan to commit or deploy to impact investments?*
Please enter USD in millions. E.g., write "5.5" if USD 5,500,000.
Please choose and complete the appropriate box or boxes. If completing both, committed capital should include deployed capital.
Commit: ______
Deploy: ______
21) What is your current total impact investment AUM (assets under management)?*
Please enter USD in millions. E.g., write "5.5" if USD 5,500,000.
______
22) If you would like to add any comments and/or further explanations for any of the numerical questions above, please do so here. As always, the GIIN will anonymize your response and may include parts in the final report.
______
______
Portfolio Allocations
Unless otherwise specified, all questions in the survey should be answered with respect ONLY to your impact investing activities.
23) How would you characterize the capital you invest?*
Please specify the % of total capital for each option.
______Proprietary capital
______Capital committed on behalf of clients
24) How is your current portfolio split between the following options?*
Please specify the % of total capital committed for each option.
______Directly into companies, projects, or real assets
______Indirectly through intermediaries including fund managers
______Other
25) How is your current portfolio allocated across regions in terms of percentage of total capital?*
Note:For the proportion of your portfolio invested through funds, please estimate geographic allocations based on where the fund(s) invests.
Please specify the % of total capital for each option.
______East Asia
______Eastern Europe, Russia, & Central Asia
______Latin America & Caribbean (including Mexico)
______Middle East & North Africa
______South Asia
______Southeast Asia
______Sub-Saharan Africa
______U.S. & Canada
______Western, Northern, & Southern Europe
______Oceania
______Other
If you included "other", please specify here:______
26) How is your current portfolio allocated across sectors in terms of percentage of total capital?*
Note:For the proportion of your portfolio invested through funds, please estimate sector allocations based on where the fund(s) invests.
Please specify the % of total capital for each option.
______Arts & culture
______Education
______Energy
______Financial services (excluding microfinance)
______Food & agriculture
______Forestry & timber
______Healthcare
______Housing
______Information and communication technologies
______Infrastructure
______Manufacturing
______Microfinance
______Water, sanitation, & hygiene
______Other
If you included "other", please specify here:______
27) How is your current portfolio allocated across instruments in terms of percentage of total capital?*
Note:For the proportion of your portfolio invested through funds, please estimate instrument allocationsbased on the instrument used to invest in the fund, not the instruments the fund uses to invest in companies/projects.
Please specify the % of total capital for each option. See definitions of these options below.
______Deposits & cash equivalents
______Private debt
______Public debt
______Equity-like debt
______Private equity
______Public equity
______Real assets
______Pay-for-performance instruments (e.g., social impact bonds)
______Other
If you included "other", please specify here:______
28) Whether directly or via intermediaries, how is your current portfolio allocated across stage of business in terms of percentage of total capital? (Optional)
Please specify the % of total capital for each option. See definitions of these options below.
______Seed/Start-up stage
______Venture stage
______Growth stage
______Mature, private companies
______Mature, publicly-traded companies
______N/A
29) In the past three years, has your organization participated in an impact investing transaction involving a guarantee (an unfunded contract or funded reserve that is not part of an investable capital stack)?*
Select all that apply.
[ ] Yes, my organization has acted as a guarantor.
[ ] Yes, my organization received a guarantee for an investment or loan.
[ ] Yes, my organization was the borrower or investee.
[ ] Yes, my organization advised on a transaction involving a guarantee.
[ ] No.
[ ] Not sure / other.
If you chose 'other', please use this space to explain your response:
______
30) Please feel free to elaborate or provide further explanation on any of the questions in this section here. As always, the GIIN will anonymize your response and may include parts in the final report. (Optional)
______
______
______
Future Portfolio Allocations
Unless otherwise specified, all questions in the survey should be answered with respect ONLY to your impact investing activities.
31) How do you plan to change your allocation, as a percentage of your current portfolio, to each region over the next year? (Optional)
Please indicate changes relative to other proportions, rather than absolute changes (i.e., if one region increases, another must decrease).
Decrease / Maintain / Increase / Begin to assess / Not applicableEast Asia / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Eastern Europe, Russia, & Central Asia / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Latin America & Caribbean (including Mexico) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Middle East & North Africa / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Oceania / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
South Asia / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Southeast Asia / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Sub-Saharan Africa / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
U.S. & Canada / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Western, Northern, & Southern Europe / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
32) How do you plan to change your allocation, as a percentage of your current portfolio, to each sector over the next year? (Optional)
Please indicate changes relative to other proportions, rather than absolute changes (i.e., if one sector increases, another must decrease).
Decrease / Maintain / Increase / Begin to assess / Not applicableArts & culture / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Education / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Energy / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Financial services (excluding microfinance) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Food & agriculture / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Forestry & timber / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Healthcare / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Housing / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Information and communication technologies / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Infrastructure / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Manufacturing / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Microfinance / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Water, sanitation, & hygiene / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
State of the Impact Investment Market
Unless otherwise specified, all questions in the survey should be answered with respect ONLY to your impact investing activities.
33) What is your perception of the progress made, if any, in 2016 for the following indicators of general market growth?*
Worsened / No progress / Some progress / Significant progress / Not sureSophistication of impact measurement practice / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Common understanding of definition and segmentation of impact investing market / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Research and data on products and performance / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Professionals with relevant skill sets / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Appropriate capital across the risk/return spectrum / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Innovative deal/fund structures to accommodate investors’ or investees’ needs / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Suitable exit options / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
High-quality investment opportunities (fund or direct) with track record / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Government support for the market / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
If you would like to add a comment, the GIIN will anonymize your answer and may include it in the report:
______
34) In your assessment, how critical are the following challenges to the growth of the impact investing industry today?*
Lack of:
Very significant challenge / Significant challenge / Moderate challenge / Slight challenge / Not a challenge / Not sure/not applicableSophistication of impact measurement practice / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Common understanding of definition and segmentation of impact investing market / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Research and data on products and performance / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Professionals with relevant skill sets / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Appropriate capital across the risk/return spectrum / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Innovative deal/fund structures to accommodate investors’ or investees’ needs / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Suitable exit options / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
High-quality investment opportunities (fund or direct) with track record / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Government support for the market / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
If you would like to add a comment, the GIIN will anonymize your answer and may include it in the report:______
35) How competitive is the market for impact investing transactions of the type you typically invest in? (Optional.)
( ) No significant competition
( ) Some competition
( ) A lot of competition
LOGIC: Show questions 36 and 37 only if answer to 35 is “Some competition” or “A lot of competition”.
36) What are the main causes of competition in your market(s)? (Optional)
Select all that apply.
[ ] Limited number of high quality investment opportunities - due largely to lack of business model scalability
[ ] Limited number of high quality investment opportunities - due largely to capacity at senior management levels
[ ] Growing number of impact investors pursuing similar opportunities
[ ] Growing number of mainstream investors pursuing similar opportunities
37) How have you already, or plan to in the future, address competitive pressures you are facing? (Optional)
Already done / Plan to in the futureDiversify investment instruments used / [ ] / [ ]
Diversify sectors / [ ] / [ ]
Diversify geographies / [ ] / [ ]
Invest in earlier stage investments than we currently do / [ ] / [ ]
Invest in later stage investments than we currently do / [ ] / [ ]
Relax risk-return expectations (i.e. be willing to take on more risk for same expected return, or lower expected return for same risk, or some combination of the two) / [ ] / [ ]
Invest in building capacity of investment targets pre-investment / [ ] / [ ]
Invest in building capacity of investment targets post-investment / [ ] / [ ]
Current Market Topics
38) The topic of market segmentation is increasingly discussed and debated within (and outside) the impact investing industry. There are many ways in which the universe of investors, products, or opportunities might be segmented.How important is it to segment impact investors (or products/opportunities) along the following dimensions or criteria?*
Very important / Somewhat important / Not important / Not sureWhether they seek below-market returns or risk-adjusted market rates of return / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
By the type of social/environmental impact themes they pursue / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Degree of impact evidence sought (outputs vs. outcomes vs. impacts) / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Whether they invest in more innovative or more established business models / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Whether they are primarily motivated by impact or financial returns / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Along dimensions seen in conventional investing, such as geography, sector, and asset class / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
Other / ( ) / ( ) / ( ) / ( )
If you included "other", please specify:______
39) Does your organization currently make or plan to make impact investments in public or listed equities?*
( ) Yes, we currently do
( ) No, but we plan to do so in the future
( ) No, and we do not plan to do so in the future
LOGIC: Show Question 40 only if “Yes, we currently do” or “No, but we plan to do so in the future” to Question 39.
40) Which of the following best describes your current or future strategy for achieving impact through public (listed) equities?*