Spotlight on the Market: The Impact Investor Survey

This report presents the findings of the fourth annual impact investor survey conducted by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) and J.P. Morgan. Building upon the surveys from previous years, this report takes a deeper dive into certain thematic areas this year, both through the survey and through desk research. This survey provides detailed insight into asset allocation trends across regions, sectors, and financial instruments from the largest-ever respondent group, up 26% in 2014 from 2013. Key findings include:

• Sample size of investors was 125. When asked to prioritize different characteristics of impact investments, 80% of respondents indicated that generating financial returns is essential and 71% indicated that determining impact objectives at the time of investment is essential;
• Respondents indicated that the most useful government support would be to implement policies that improve the risk/return profiles of investments, either through credit enhancement or tax credits or subsidies;
• Microfinance accounts for about a fifth of respondents' impact investment assets (21%), the same percentage as financial services excluding microfinance, followed by energy (11%) and housing (8%);
• Survey participants reported that their portfolios are performing mostly in line with both their impact expectations and financial return expectations;
• About 98% of respondents feel that standardized impact metrics are at least "somewhat important" to the development of the industry.