This paper aims to embed impact in policy, business, and investment decisions to benefit people and the planet. The report examines how National Advisory Boards for Impact Investing (NABs) are engaging with pension funds to advance impact investing.

Top-Down Strategies

The paper discusses 30 strategies employed by NABs to engage with their local pension funds. Strategies include:

• Events, convenings, and roundtables: Organising events and roundtables to provide clarity around ESG and sustainable investment practices.
• Professional workshops and trainings: Delivering workshops and trainings to financial institutions to get up to speed on impact investing.
• Access to case studies and knowledge resources: Sharing information on impact investing through libraries, whitepapers, and individual case studies.
• Industry commitments and pledges: Encouraging local pension funds to make industry commitments and pledges to engage in impact investing.
• Local pension fund fora and collaboratives: Developing local fora and collaboratives to facilitate conversations around impact investing.
• Research, advocacy, and policy change: Participating in roundtable discussions and government-led sustainable finance roundtables to establish roadmaps for promoting impact investing.

Bottom-Up Strategies

The report also discusses strategies deployed by NABs to engage in impact investing on a local level. Strategies include:

• Public opinion surveys: Conducting local surveys to assess the appetite for impact investing.
• Engaging in direct advocacy at AGMs: Engaging with pension funds at their annual general meetings to discuss impact investing approaches.
• Public awareness campaigns: Educating the general public on impact investing to raise awareness
• Pension fund ratings: Encouraging the application of ESG metrics to assess pension funds in the same way as credit ratings.
• Industry benchmark reports: Developing reports that will provide performance benchmarks on impact investment across various asset classes.

Conclusion

The report acknowledges that while there is evidence of progress towards impact investing, a step-change is needed to bridge the funding gap between the billions invested in impact assets and the trillions needed to support robust social and environmental outcomes. Therefore, the report recommends that NABs continue to work together by sharing their successes, failures and best practices.