Impact investors have yet to reach universal agreement on measurement standards, but in the U.S. there is increasing recognition that the policy infrastructure for incentivizing responsible investments needs an update. The Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing, a $14 million donor collaborative led by the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and funded by well-known philanthropies, issued grants to eight organizations to come up with the right mix of policy proposals — including tax breaks, fiduciary standards, and funding for CDFIs — to pursue, regardless of who wins in November.
Responsible Investor: Initiative launched to get impact and ESG on agenda of the next US President
Just weeks before the US Department of Labour (DOL) proposed to limit pension funds’ ability to invest in ESG-focused funds, rattling the responsible investment industry globally, the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing (TPF) announced new grants to help organisations develop public policy on issues like fiduciary duty and ESG.
ImpactAlpha: Preparing an impact investing policy agenda for the next administration
Eight small grants from the $14 million Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing suggest the outlines of a 2021 policy agenda, no matter who wins the November U.S. election.
New definitions of fiduciary duty. Standards for quality jobs. Expansion of capital for community development financial institutions, or CDFIs.
“Impact investing has appeal across the political spectrum,” says the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance’s Fran Seegull, who is managing the fund. “Government and investors need each other to get to the scale we need.”