Weekly Impact Investment Market Update: July 28, 2017

Impact Investing & ESG

Why Impact Investing Needs to Go Mainstream

In a conversation with Knowledge@Wharton and Nick Ashburn, Durreen Shahnaz says that of all social impact areas, women’s livelihood is one of the toughest and most important issues. “If you don’t have one half of the equation there, how do we move forward?” READ MORE…

U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Launches to Scale the Practice of Impact Investing

The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance (“Alliance”) today announced the launch of its expanded network of impact investing leaders dedicated to advancing this growing market. The Alliance is introduced today with a broadened mandate that includes advocating for a favorable policy environment, catalyzing the flow of impact capital and growing the movement of impact investing in the U.S. and globally. READ MORE…

Unlocking Blended Finance for the 2030 Global Goals

Private capital can indeed deliver public goods. We need much, much more capital from individual, institutional and other commercial investors to fill the estimated $2.5 trillion annual gap in financing for sustainable development. The good news: we increasingly know the blends that can attract it. READ MORE…

“Clients Seek Investments with Environmental, Social Value”

Currently, Switzerland’s UBS is committed to making $1 billion a year in social and environmental impact investments over five years, an annual percentage that amounts to less than 0.6% of its capital under management and about 3% over the entire period. READ MORE…

On the ESG Horizon: Achieving a Global Standard

ESG integration was once a topic left to the public relations department of the average organization. Now that institutional investors are seeing how responsible integration positively affects a company’s valuation, talks of mandatory government regulation around the world are increasing. READ MORE…

An Insider Explains Why Wall Street’s Big Money Focus on Sustainability is Here to Stay

A recent survey of 320+ institutional investors found broad support for ESG-related themes, with 80% of respondents stating that companies have not considered environmental and social issues as core to their business and that generating sustainable returns over time requires a sharper focus on ESG issues. READ MORE…

United States & Europe

US Second-Quarter-Growth Accelerates to 2.6%

The US economy gathered speed in the second quarter of the year, growing at an annualised pace of 2.6%. The pick-up was helped by consumer spending in the quarter expanding at a pace of 2.8%, and businesses stepping up spending on equipment. READ MORE…

Developing Economies

OPEC Moves to Cap Nigerian Oil Output, Boost Compliance

OPEC moved on Monday to cap Nigerian oil output and called on several members to boost compliance with production cuts to help clear excessive global stocks and support flagging prices. READ MORE…

Fed Balance Sheet Plan May Equal Three Rate Hikes for Emerging Markets: IIF

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s plan to reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet could exert the same squeeze on emerging markets next year as three interest rate hikes, an Institute of International Finance (IIF) study shows. It said it also has the potential to reduce stock and bond flows by as much as $25 billion. READ MORE…

IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2017: Gaining Momentum?

This most recent installment of IMF’s World Economic Outlook stresses the need for credible strategies in advanced economies and emerging market and developing ones to tackle a number of common challenges in an integrated global economy. READ MORE…

Emerging Markets: What Has Changed Ahead of July 23, 2017

This report summarizes Emerging Market trends, specifically in Turkey, South Korea, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico. READ MORE…

Copper Trumps Politics as Investors Take Shine to Zambian Assets

The yield on Zambia’s $1 billion Eurobonds due April 2024 have fallen 135 basis points this year to 7.55 percent on Wednesday. The southern African nation’s currency has appreciated 12 percent against the dollar in 2017, making the kwacha the continent’s best performer after Mozambique’s metical. Copper prices are at their highest in more than two years. READ MORE…