Stockholm (NordSIP) – As sustainable investing continues to face political backlash, it is crucial that the most committed impact investor not be deterred from their mission. The latest review of the market seems to provide encouraging evidence of impact investing’s resilience.
This week, Phenix Capital Group published its annual Impact Fund Universe Report, which aims to provide an impact investing market map for institutional investors. Although the market survey provides a generally positive view of the market’s progress, it suggests impact investors should be more ambitious.
The report estimates that €701 billion has been raised by impact funds since 2015, representing a 160% growth. From 2023 to 2024, the number of impact funds grew from 2790 to 2907, 103 new managers entered the market, total and average capital committed increased by €10 billion and €25 million, respectively. There was a 28% increase in total target size for impact funds in the past year, which now reach €377 billion. However, the average target size of impact funds has decreased by 11.8%, from €391 million to €345 million.
According to the report, SDGs 7, 9 and 3 (SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean energy; SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; and SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being) are the most targeted by Impact funds. However, of the 117 funds launched in 2024, 62 funds targetted SDG 13, 53 funds targeted SDG 7 and 40 funds targeted SDG 11.
To calculate these figures, Phenix uses its Impact Database, which provides investors with access to and intelligence on the impact fund market opportunities available to them. Three main variables used to construct, monitor and update the dataset: funds considered have an impact proposition; institutional scale; and target market-rate returns. Impact Database now includes detailed overview of more than 2500 impact funds.
“I believe it is a game changer for fund managers looking to raise capital for their impact fund. It helps to identify the most likely prospects for a specific fund, based on our unique proprietary datasets that cover more than 1,800 asset owners with active impact programmes,” says Phenix Capital Group’s CEO Dirk Mueleman.
Private equity dominates private impact funds. Whilst private debt funds tend to focus on SDG 1 (No Pverty) , SDG and SDG 5 (Gener equality), private equity fuds tend t focus on SDG 3 (Good heakth nand equily), SDG 2 (Zero hunger) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).
This report also contains an industry interview with Gilde Healthcare. We spoke to Partner David de Graaf and Head of Responsible Investment Stephanie Mooj, about the next phase of building out the impactful Gilde Healthcare platform as the prepare to launch a new lower mid-market private equity fund focused on climate solutions. Mueleman is also interviewed, and talks about impact investing and its importance in an increasingly uncertain world and our new Investor IQ Service.
