RIA releases 2016 Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report

The 2016 Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report reveals that impact investing is experiencing rapid growth in Canada, and that continuing growth in this field is expected.

• Survey respondents identified over $9.2 billion in assets under management as impact investments in 2015.

• This total represents an increase of 123% over 2013.

• The significant growth of impact investment can be attributed to at least three factors:

• The increasing demand for impact investments by institutional and high net worth investors.

• The growing availability of impact investment products.

• The expansion of investors’ counting of impact investments as they gain a deeper understanding of how they can generate positive social and environmental impacts across various asset categories.

65% of survey respondents target competitive returns at or above market rate, an increased percentage from our last survey. Of that group, 96% said their impact investment’s performance either met or exceeded their expectations. This finding supports the case that investing for environmental or social impact can generate competitive returns.