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Britain aims high with launch of Impact Investing Institute


The UK is aiming to be a global champion in impact investing with the launch of an organisation to guide one of the fastest growing fields in asset management.

The government-backed Impact Investing Institute will be steered by Elizabeth Corley, former chief executive and vice-chair at Allianz Global Investors, and Harvey McGrath, former chairman of Man Group, the alternative asset manager.

“We see an enormous opportunity to collect money and direct it to some of the biggest social challenges we have,” Ms Corley told the Financial Times. “We will place the UK in a very strong position on the global stage.”

Impact investing, which combines financial returns with a social or environmental purpose, has moved into the financial mainstream. The global impact investment market is worth $502bn, according to an estimate from the Global Impact Investing Network, an industry body.

The Impact Investing Institute will not manage assets but will conduct research and press for more funds to be allocated to the sector, particularly from ordinary savers.

It will unite two initiatives. One is the Implementation Taskforce, an advisory group chaired by Ms Corley, which was charged with putting into action the recommendations of a report called Growing a Culture of Social Impact Investing. The other is the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing, whose members include Saker Nusseibeh, chief executive of Hermes Investment Management, and David Blood, co-founder of Generation Investment Management and former chief executive of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

The NAB was created as part of a push to promote social impact investing within the G8 group of countries and is chaired by Sir Harvey.

As well as government funding, the Impact Investing Institute has financial support from the City of London Corporation, which runs the UK capital’s Square Mile, and several financial groups whose names have not been disclosed.

Ms Corley will chair its management board while Sir Harvey will chair the advisory council. The institute is looking for a chief executive.

“You can invest in things that create social value which [are] not about charity,” said Nigel Kershaw, chairman of the Big Issue Group and a member of the NAB and the task force.

He said investors needed more avenues to allocate capital to the sector. The Big Issue Group’s investment arm is working with groups including Standard Life Aberdeen, Columbia Threadneedle and AllianceBernstein to launch a fund supermarket specialising in impact funds.



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