We’re evolving. Mercer is now part of the new, expanded Marsh brand

Impact investing: from ambition to tangible change

We partner with our clients to build robust impact investment strategies that seek to deliver positive change. We can help you define your impact journey, design an innovative global portfolio uncovering fresh ideas across the spectrum of asset classes, and measure your impact in line with your goals. As an investor, you could have a unique opportunity to make a difference.

Why impact investing?

More investors are opting to go beyond sustainability risk considerations to support positive, tangible change through impact investing. Many innovative companies and projects may have the potential to drive real change. Investors’ capital can help these enterprises scale, innovate, and grow - helping to create environmental and social value. 

Impact investors connect the pursuit of risk-adjusted returns with the delivery of positive real-world outcomes, often aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, impact investors often align their approach to SDGs focused on climate, healthcare and education, supporting allocations to impact opportunities aligned with these themes.

Creating a strong and diversified strategy can be complex but rewarding. We’re here to help you determine where you are on your impact journey, partnering with you to identify themes, source and integrate potential opportunities into your portfolio, and report on and monitor your progress.

Discover impact investing private markets

Defining your impact investing approach

There are a number of approaches to sustainable investment, including ESG integration and screening, thematic investing and impact investing. Impact investing starts where ESG ends and spans opportunities that deliver varying market rate returns.

Some investors are willing to lower their expected levels of return to focus on impact in a particular area. However, we believe that when executed well, impact investing can generate a positive social or environmental impact in addition to delivering the return potential you are pursing.

We can help you review your objectives against your investment goals, defining an optimal strategy that balances your sustainability ambitions with returns.

Considerations for impact investing

We outline four critical areas to focus on when considering impact investing. 

Meaningful impact starts with deliberate intention. We can help you determine where you want to make a real impact and define what that could look like for your portfolio.

We have relationships with hundreds of managers around the world and can help you identify those with the right skill sets and opportunities to seek to make a real impact.1

In our view, impact investing also requires financial returns. Only what generates sustainable returns can exist for the long term. We can help you assess and find a balance that aligns with your goals and seek to deliver an environmental and social impact.

Impact must be measurable and visible to be credible. We can help you monitor and report on your progress and outcomes, tailored to your preferred frameworks and needs. 
Impact investing targets underserved areas of the global economy. For example, it aims to help meet the needs of the “bottom billion,” and addresses critical global problems such as climate change
Angelika Delen, Head of Impact Solutions, Europe, IMETA and Asia, Mercer

How we can partner with you on your Impact journey

We’re here to help you identify the impact themes that matter most to you. Using our global scale and extensive manager research, we can help you source and integrate opportunities into your portfolio and provide clear reporting and monitoring of your progress. 

Whether you’re seeking advice or you want us to work on your behalf through our investment solutions platform, we can tailor, and flex, our services to the way that suits you best.

We can work with you on setting your objectives and impact KPIs to build an ambitious impact strategy. 

We will help you explore which impact themes may provide attractive opportunities to meet your risk, returns and impact objectives.

We can help you embed impact opportunities throughout your portfolio by supporting you in designing and implementing portfolios, as well as conducting impact due diligence.

We work flexibly with clients to find their preferred implementation route, from advisory and multi-client solutions to bespoke portfolios.

We can help you measure your impact with science-driven frameworks, undertake impact engagement with managers, and deliver reporting dashboards supported by case studies and key metrics. 

We support clients with credible and effective impact management on an ongoing basis.

Mercer’s Private Markets Impact Solutions

From rising power demand to shifting consumption patterns and aging populations, megatrends are transforming economies and redefining what resilience means for investors. 

We help investors turn impact ambition into investable private market solutions that can help strengthen portfolios and seek to deliver measurable real-world outcomes.

These shifts are transforming entire systems and value chains. Private markets can provide access to investment opportunities that are building the next generation of solutions.

How we help

  • Global access

    Through Mercer’s global network and independent manager research, spanning primaries, secondaries, and co-investments across regions and themes, we can help you generate new ideas and uncover innovation. 

  • Diversification

    We can help build diversified exposure across strategies, vintages and managers, helping to reduce concentration risk and seek to improve portfolio balance over time.

  • Expertise

    Leverage Mercer’s dedicated private markets team, combining global research with practical implementation experience across the investment lifecycle. Find out more here.

  • Impact framework

    Our impact framework supports rigorous impact due diligence and enables clear reporting, helping our clients to communicate progress and outcomes with confidence.

  • Real economy exposure

    Private markets can help finance the companies and infrastructure behind climate, nature, and social resilience, supporting solutions where capital can seek tangible change.

  • Flexible solutions

    Choose from commingled solutions, bespoke mandates or advisory supporting, depending on your objectives, resources, and implementation preferences.
Related solutions
Related insights

Raising your impact ambition

Learn more about the path to impact through two case studies in this report, which covers the work of an illiquid private equity and a liquid globally listed equity firm.
Download this report

MercerInsight® Community

MercerInsight Community curates the latest strategic research from Mercer and hundreds of third-party publishers and asset managers. While some articles are featured here, most are reserved for members. Membership is complimentary and it’s quick and easy to join.
Join the community

Contact us

Discover how we can partner with you on your impact journey.
See our Important Notices

1 Mercer cannot guarantee access to opportunities. Access is at the discretion of the investment manager.

Mercer provides investment solutions and services to a wide range of clients across geographies, regardless of political, social, or religious viewpoints. Mercer has a range of tools and solutions available to help clients meet their particular investment objectives, which may be informed by regulatory requirements and market practices that vary across geographies and investor types. To provide a broad education on topics, including environmental, social, governance (ESG), valued aligned and sustainable investing, Mercer does not artificially limit or intentionally target educational content to readers based on the circumstances of a particular audience. The ESG, valued aligned, or sustainable investing concepts mentioned herein may not be suitable or appropriate for all investors or in all geographical areas. For more information on whether and how Mercer’s services or products incorporate any of these concepts, please refer to product specific disclosures and/or please contact a member of your local Mercer team.