078, Amit Bouri, the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) | The Conscious Investor
Impact investing is always happening, whether we think about it
or not. If you put money in a bank account, the bank uses your
money and there is an impact. If you invest in the stock market,
even if you invest in an index fund of all stocks, your money is
still making an impact. The only question is, are you consciously
choosing the kind of impact that you want to have.
Consumers are waking up, becoming conscious of the impact of
their spending in alignment with their values. Millennials are
choosing to work in jobs that are more closely aligned to their
values. In the same way, investors are beginning to ask questions
about impact of their investments.
Amit Bouri is a thought leader in the area of impact investing.
He is the cofounder and CEO of GIIN, The Global Impact Investing
Network.
GIIN is a nonprofit with a mission to increase the scale and
effectiveness of impact investing. They provide several tools to
help anyone from students to impact investors to make data-driven
decisions. Their site is rich with answers for general
consumers.
The GIIN noticed that investors need a common language to
describe and compare the social, environmental and financial
performance of their investments. Therefore, GIIN has developed
IRIS, a catalog of generally accepted performance metrics help
impact investors to measure and manage the performance of their
investments.
Fund managers and investors need a way to find one another.
Therefore, The GIIN provides ImpactBase. ImpactBase is a
searchable, online database of impact investment funds and products
designed for investors. An accredited investor can sort investment
opportunities by impact themes (e.g., Green Tech), target
geographies, asset class (fixed income, private equity, etc.),
status (open, commitments, etc.) and target returns, including
risk-adjusted market rates.
Impact Investing Quotes from Amit Bouri:
“Impact investments are investments made into companies or
organizations with the intention of having a positive social and/or
environmental impact, alongside financial returns.”
“How do we build the capital markets that will support the
growth of social entrepreneurs?”
“The role of capital is shifting in terms of what people think
about what capital should be accomplishing.”
“People are thinking about where their values belong very
differently.”
“It’s really important to think about the impact your assets are
having, and they’re all having an impact whether you like it or
not.”
“I encourage you to think more broadly about your investments.
We don’t typically think of our savings accounts as
investments.”
“As long as you have a bank account, you’re technically an
investor.”
Announcing Culture Shift Learning Academy
In today’s episode, we announce Culture Shift Learning
Academy, a comprehensive system to help you flesh out your
social impact idea and start achieving it.
Enrollment isn’t open yet, but you can join the waiting list
with other changemakers. Just go to http://TonyLoyd.com/assessment
and enter your email address. As a thank you, I’ll send you the
Social Entrepreneur Startup Readiness Assessment. This
useful tool is designed to help you to determine where you are on
your startup journey and to successfully focus your development
efforts.
Social Entrepreneurship Resources:
- The GIIIN: https://thegiin.org
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theGIIN
- Culture Shift Learning Academy waiting list: http://tonyloyd.com/assessment