Weekly Impact Investment Market Update: October 5, 2018

Impact Investing & ESG
 

What Global Megatrends Can Teach Us about Impact Investing
Impact investing has been gaining traction in large part because global sustainability megatrends are getting more attention.

How Women are Bringing Impact Investing to the Mainstream
Profits, meet purpose. Companies are being asked to serve a social purpose, here’s how women are positioning impact investing as a mainstream strategy.

Gender Equality: A Potential Driver for ESG Funds
There is plenty of work to be done when it comes to gender equality and investors should favor that work being done because various data points and studies confirm that companies with women occupying c-level executive positions and/or several board spots outperform their less gender diverse counterparts.

Impact Investing: The Billionaires Building Change
Eleven years ago, at a small gathering at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy, the term “impact investing” was coined. It was not a new idea, but it finally had an official name.

Responsible Investing: Southeast Asia Top Destination for Impact Investments
“Southeast Asia has been the fastest growing impact investing market in the world for the past five years. The region offers dynamic business environments, with increasing entrepreneurial and investment activity focused on ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic development,” says GIIN director of research Abhilash Mudaliar in a media statement.

 

United States & Europe
 

The US Economy is Doing so Great that the Markets are Worried
September was the 96th consecutive month of job gains, the longest on record. The two previous months were revised to show 87,000 more jobs were added that previously reported.

 

Developing Economies
 

These Comfort Charts Signal Year-End Recovery for EM
After a rally from mid-August gave way to another sell-off through early September, emerging-market investors would be forgiven for being wary of new signs that calm is returning.

Goldman Forecasts South Africa Economic Rebound in 2019
Goldman Sachs (GS.N) expects South Africa’s economy to grow almost 3 percent next year, helped by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s reforms and strong global growth, the bank’s sub-Saharan Africa head told Reuters.

Asia’s Economic Ties Strengthen Amid Gathering Global Storm
As reported by the Asian Development Bank, Asia’s (including South Asia) intra-regional trade in 2016 as a percentage of total reached 60%, surpassing that of NAFTA’s 56% (comprising of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada), and is second only to the EU’s 27 member countries at 69%.

World Bank Sharply Cuts Malaysia’s 2018 Growth View
The World Bank Thursday sharply cut its 2018 economic growth forecast for Malaysia to 4.9% from 5.4% and said the expansion pace could steadily decelerate through 2020.