Annual Impact Investor Survey 2019

The GIIN builds critical infrastructure and supports activities, education, and research that help accelerate the development of a coherent impact investing industry. The GIIN's 2019 Annual Impact Investor Survey captures a single moment in this young and dynamic industry, reflecting both progress and obstacles. The survey reveals that the impact investing industry is growing, with respondents making over 13,000 deals in 2018 and planning to invest in more than 15,000 deals in 2019. The industry has made significant progress in overcoming challenges that used to stop conversations before they started. Fully one-third of respondents are motivated to make impact investments because of their financial return potential. The survey also captures headway made against the 18 actions charted in the GIIN's 2018 Roadmap for the Future of Impact Investing to strengthen the market and drive even greater impact. The impact investing industry has grown to USD 502 billion in impact investment assets, estimated through the GIIN's Sizing the Impact Investing Market report. However, this amount is nowhere near enough, and the industry must continue to grow and develop to achieve its full potential. The GIIN has emboldened its definition of impact investing to four Core Characteristics that set a high bar of expected practices. These characteristics include specific impact intentions, consideration of evidence and impact data in the design of investment strategies, management of impact performance, and contribution to the growth of the industry. The survey highlights the challenges faced by the industry, including the struggle to source talent for impact management. However, despite these challenges, the industry has made significant progress in measuring and managing impact, with over 60% of respondents sharing best practices with one another. The GIIN's Core Characteristics celebrate and codify these achievements and address one action laid out in the Roadmap – creating a shared identity. The industry must continue to work together to tackle the remaining 17 actions and achieve its full potential. The survey also provides insights into the investment activity of impact investors, including capital invested since inception, activity in 2018 by asset class, average deal size, and planned investment activity for 2019. The survey also examines the state of the market, including progress on indicators of market growth, challenges, and roadmap progress. The survey provides a comprehensive overview of the impact investing industry and its growth, challenges, and opportunities. The GIIN's 2019 Annual Impact Investor Survey is a valuable resource for impact investors, industry stakeholders, and policymakers. It provides insights into the growth and development of the impact investing industry and highlights the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The survey is a call to action for the industry to continue to grow and develop, to tackle the remaining 17 actions, and to achieve its full potential in driving positive, sustainable changes in the world.