ImpactAlpha, May 7 – What lies beyond tradeoffs? “Smart growth,” says Marieke Spence, the new executive director of Impact Capital Managers, the network of fund managers seeking market-rate (or better) returns from impact investments.
Such ‘impact alpha’ investors can co-invest with catalytic investors that can accept higher risks, lower returns, more flexible terms or longer repayment periods, Spence says. “ICM doesn’t operate in a vacuum,” the ex-Synergos director told ImpactAlpha. “We are one part of an increasingly vibrant impact investing ecosystem and sit within the spectrum of returns sought by investors.”
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Impact Capital Managers has grown to 40 members, with $11 billion in assets under management since launching last April.
- Growing network. New to ICM are KKR, Partners Group, Morgan Stanley and Cranemere. Turner Impact Capital, Illumen Capital, The Impact Engine, Aiim Partners and Jana Partners have joined as well. Founders of ICM include SJF Ventures and Bridges Fund Management.
- Impact-driven performance. The group’s mantra was codified in last year’s report (wink) “The Alpha in Impact” from Tideline.
- On the front lines. Spence says the network is focused on general partners and fund managers rather than limited partners and asset owners. “You can’t scale impact investing unless managers are scaling successfully,” says Spence, and hitting financial and impact targets.
