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The Power of Impact Investing

Judith Rodin,

Margot Brandenburg

3.63 · Rating details · 122 ratings · 13 reviews

“Impact investing can be a powerful instrument of change.”
—Judith Rodin, President, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Margot Brandenburg, in the introduction

A new wave of investors is using impact investing to address some of the greatest challenges of our time—from climate change and water scarcity to lack of access to health care, education, and affordable housing—with the ...more

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Paperback, 172 pages

Published May 6th 2014 by Wharton Digital Press

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The Power of Impact Investing by Judith Rodin

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Aug 14, 2018 Sandeep Tammu rated it did not like it

Shelves: read-in-2018

How are we ever going to rise enough capital to fund companies that not only care about making profits but also strive for a positive impact on social, ethical and environmental metrics? In short, where is the money for the next 'Microsoft' of education or the 'Apple' for renewable energy?
All the goverments of the world blindly chased GDP for so long they didn't realise that it came at a huge cost for the environment and social well-being of people. They are now scratching their heads thinking a ...more

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Aug 20, 2018 InvestingByTheBooks.com rated it really liked it

Impact investing is similar to value investing in one crucial aspect: you either grasp its eloquent righteousness instantly or you don’t. If you are one of the people who reflexively turn your back on concepts such as socially responsible investments (SRI), ethical investing or corporate governance focus, arguing it affects the ability to maximize total return from your investments – then this book ought to be your companion as you set out your investment goals for 2015 and beyond. The Power of Impact investing is similar to value investing in one crucial aspect: you either grasp its eloquent righteousness instantly or you don’t. If you are one of the people who reflexively turn your back on concepts such as socially responsible investments (SRI), ethical investing or corporate governance focus, arguing it affects the ability to maximize total return from your investments – then this book ought to be your companion as you set out your investment goals for 2015 and beyond. The Power of Impact Investing is a passionate, engaging, concise and highly actionable book by two of the trailblazers in the arena of impact investing. Judith Rodin is president of the Rockefeller Foundation and Margot Brandenburg was formerly a senior director at Rockefeller.

The book only runs to about 130 pages, where each chapter begins with an illustrative real-world story of impact investing in practice. These anecdotes serve two purposes; it bridges the gap of impact investing from an almost philosophical attitude over to details of actual investments. But more importantly the stories also teach the reader about how quickly the broader area of sustainable investing is developing. Questions brought up in these chapters are among others “What is impact investing”, “Who are the impact investors” and “A global movement”. They are dealt with in a very non- patronizing way, instead wanting to open up the doors to a world that investors will need to learn more about, be it pushed from client demands or a societal drive in the wake of exploding income inequalities, or pulled from an inner willingness to differentiate.

That SRI has gathered speed lately is clear – things started expanding in the 1970s, at a snail’s pace however. These days it more resembles that of Moore’s Law on drugs. The truest form of impact investing is microfinance, shot to prominence in 2006 via Mohammad Yunus’s Nobel Peace Price. Then things garnered even more speed in the aftermaths of the financial crisis and subsequent to a paper from 2011; Creating Shared Value by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer (highly recommended as an antidote to the Milton Friedman inspired Maximizing Shareholder Value concept). As of today, more than $3,7tn is run within SRI mandates – in the US alone!

The natural segway to traditional asset management is of course the double meaning of sustainability. The true skill in long duration active investing is not only to identify businesses with a competitive advantage, but which businesses will possess a durable edge. In that sense, companies with a focus on sustainable business practices and disruptors of environmentally / socially / governmental unfriendly practices ought to be of utmost interest. “Impact investing...is a means of using capital to drive financial value and social and environmental impact simultaneously”. After all, isn’t the core purpose of the financial sector to redistribute resources to the firms with the most ability to use them productively?

An incredibly valuable aspect of the book is the brim-full glass of references, suggestions for further reading and industry contacts. One aspect of a good read has always been the “number of notes and scribbles”. In my mind the inspirational aspect is as powerful. Making the reader dig more deeply into the particular topic of a book as his/her interest is piqued is an incredibly powerful aspect of literature. On that level, this book delivers a top score. As a direct result of The Power of Impact Investing, I have read four other books, countless papers, met with several people and made SRI an even more pronounced aspect of my daily work.

To return to the start of the review, another similarity that SRI shares with value investing is the willingness, or eagerness, to share ideas and knowledge among fellow practitioners, making this area constantly evolving according to at least some level of best practice. Take the opportunity to start your own journey by reading this book and becoming a contributor yourself! ...more

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Sep 07, 2017 David Rubenstein rated it it was ok

This book is full of credible and interesting information. Unfortunately, the interesting information is not credible, and the credible information is not interesting.

What a bore. No matter where I opened the book, I was unable to recall if I had read that section previously or not. It is a jumble of repeated thoughts and ideas, a boatload of meaningless (to me) acronyms, and name-dropping of the dullest sort.

The authors have an imaginative philosophy. What they needed was an editor and an econo ...more

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Feb 04, 2021 Nikkei Flores rated it really liked it

Shelves: c-suite-pov

I got into this book after doing more research on how to make my investments reflect what I believe and truly support in, whether it's due to personal beliefs, morals or out of interests and hobbies. The book gives good insight towards the end about the breakdown between retail investors and individuals with more capital & latitude. Throughout the book, examples used were in relation to known companies in the US that make social impact as well those in other countries. This book is good for thos ...more

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Aug 28, 2020 Marci Seamples rated it it was amazing

I read this book as part of the curriculum for the CAP designation through the American College of Financial Services. This gave me some fantastic introductory knowledge about the social impact investment sector - there are so many more options than I was aware of. As an amateur investor myself, it gave me some ideas for now and in the future as well, something I didn’t think I’d discover when I started reading this book.

If you are curious about impact investing, this is a short quick read that ...more

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Feb 15, 2020 Robert A Cerato rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Good Industry Overview, Craving more Industry Data Next

Good intro to impact investing, overview of the space, the players involved and the landscape. When finishing the book I found myself craving more information and data on how to evaluate investments/funds for both financial and impact performance as well as data on the overall financial/impact performance of the impact investment industry.

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Dec 29, 2018 Patricia Burgess rated it liked it

Good introduction to "impact investing," where investments seek dual purpose of financial returns along with social and environmental benefits. The authors are experienced investors and provide guidance to what is impact investing, how to go about this type of investing, seeking measurable outcomes, "how to" go about getting started or delving more deeply into impact investing. ...more

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Jun 21, 2017 Rob rated it liked it

A good update of relatively current trends in 'impact investing'. ...more

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Feb 23, 2017 Michael Bodekaer rated it really liked it

Very good 101 on impact investing.
I got a lot out of it, and got a good feeling for especially how philanthropic investors think and priorities their investments differently.
Especially enjoyed the chapter on Support Systems, and especially how we can leverage B-corp and various trusted certifications.

Some stories were very long, so skipped especially the Global Movement chapter as it felt a bit unstructured/too long.

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Jul 16, 2014 Cathy rated it really liked it

My review in the Stanford Social Innovation Review is here: http://www.ssireview.org/book_reviews....

Upshot: lovely intro to impact investing as a tool to create social change around the world. Not a how to guide. ...more

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Aug 23, 2014 Cyndie Courtney rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Stephen P. Johnson Jr.

Recommended to Cyndie by: National Building Museum

A short, practical book about how to start thinking of how to approach investing in a way that is better for people and for the planet. Gets you thinking and lets you know about resources you can take advantage of. A bit dry, but useful and to the point.

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Dec 28, 2016 Karen rated it liked it

Book reads like a "how-to" for newcomers in the field. Examples are well placed, but the best part about the book are the "Further Reading" links in the back of the book. Especially for those looking for impact investors/stories about impact investors (like I was). ...more

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