Weekly Impact Investment Market Update: August 3, 2018

Impact Investing & ESG
 

The Rise of ESG & Sustainable Governance in Blockchain
A changing of the guard is taking place right now, as the Baby Boomer generation moves into retirement and Millennials form a growing proportion of total capital investments.

The Rise of B Corps Highlights the Emergence of a New Way of Doing Business
People increasingly want to work for, buy from and invest in companies that have mission and impact at their heart of their model. So for entrepreneurs, there’s an increasingly attractive business case for an impact-driven approach.

ESG in Fixed Interest Doesn’t Have to Cost: Altius
Fixed income investors could use an environmental, social and governance approach to add another layer of risk management and do no harm to portfolio returns, an Australian ESG bond pioneer says.

Report Finds Growing Interest in Impact Investing Among Wealthy Folks in Canada
Impact entrepreneurs seeking funding: You might want to move to Canada. That’s one conclusion you might draw from Market Momentum: Impact Investing & High Net Worth Canadians, a recently released report from SVX, a Toronto-based impact investing platform.

18 Impact Investing Trends You Haven’t Seen Before and 1 You Have
There are 19 trends in the impact investing world that are most likely unknown to you, because they are developing in pockets and corners of the arena where most people don’t have visibility. One or two of these may be familiar to readers who work in the space.

A New Tax Break for Impact Investing Has Arrived
Financial advisers have a new way to deliver impact investing to wealthy clients — one that comes with substantial tax benefits — courtesy of a fledgling federal tax law.

Sustainable Investing for Institutions
Sustainable investing is at once intuitive and confusing; it seems like the right thing to do, but there are many different ways to do it. It promises a contribution to solving global issues, but perhaps at the expense of investment returns. It represents new risks, opportunities, and ways of doing business in a rapidly changing world of finite resources.

 

United States & Europe
 

Fed Leaves Key Rate Unchanged with Economy Growing at ‘Strong Rate’
Federal Reserve officials left U.S. interest rates unchanged and stuck with a plan to gradually lift borrowing costs amid “strong” growth that backs bets for a hike in September.

US Added 157,000 Jobs in July; Unemployment Rate Slips to 3.9%
Over all in July, employers increased payrolls by 157,000, while the unemployment rate edged downward to 3.9 percent, near the 18-year low achieved in May.

 

Developing Economies
 

IMF Staff Concludes Visit to Kenya
A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Benedict Clements, visited Kenya from July 23 to August 2, 2018 to hold discussions on the second review under a precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

Zambia Committed to Eurobonds; to Pay Debt ‘on Time, in Full’
Zambia is committed to meeting repayment obligations on its Eurobonds “on time and in full,” and comments by the president that it’s seeking help to refinance the securities are not “a signal of failure” to repay the debt, Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said.

Growth Forecasts Remain Positive for Developing Asia
Asia’s developing economies are on track to register growth of 6% for 2018 and 5.9% for 2019. However, increasing instances of protectionist trade measures from the U.S. and subsequent measures from China have resulted in downside risks to the region’s outlook and could dampen future growth.

Malaysia’s June Export Growth Gathers Pace
Malaysia’s exports growth picked up pace, rising 7.6% in June from a year earlier, thanks to stronger shipments of electronics and demand from China, official data Friday showed.