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Thumbs up for impact investing plans

Belinda Thomas, Partner and Investor Relations at Triple Point, comments on the Government consultation on strengthening the USD2.2 trillion pension fund industry’s ability to consider impact investments…

We welcome the Government’s commitment to promote further impact investment, which helps to address a broad range of the UK’s social and environmental issues, while also securing a market return for investors. The raft of changes and reviews being considered are extensive and should make a real difference to the amount of money channelled into the sector.
 
They include the Government’s review of changes to the law to strengthen pension schemes’ ability to consider member concerns about investments, such as social issues, on which the Department of Work and Pensions launched a consultation today. The Government has also expressed a desire that pension schemes should target a minimum percentage allocation towards investments that have an explicit social or environmental purpose, as well as confirmed its commitment to review social investment tax relief and further develop bonds that have a social impact.
 
With their long-term investment aims, and GBP2.2 trillion of assets under management, pension schemes are very well placed to have a positive impact on the economy and society through their investment policies and strategies.

We are seeing a clear rise in the willingness of both advisers and investors to consider such investment opportunities. Increasingly, investors want to do well from doing good and impact investing is rightly seen as a subset of commercial investing that happens to be sustainable and makes a progressive impact.
 
Earlier this year we launched an EIS Impact Investment managed service to help investors commit capital to this investment approach and we anticipate this area of EIS will grow strongly over the next few years as providers adapt their services to match investors’ greater focus on impact investments that make a positive contribution to society.

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