In recent years growing numbers of investors have been joining the community interested in not only generating financial returns but also creating positive social and environmental value in the world. “The ImpactAssets Handbook for Investors” offers an introductory overview for those interested in investing their capital in a sustainable, responsible and impactful manner.

The handbook offers insights and approaches to developing strategy as well as an understanding of the issues and considerations of impact investors in practice. In addition to discussions of portfolio structure and strategy, the handbook offers an overview of due diligence necessary to assess potential investments, a discussion of communications and performance measurement issues and other factors key to managing capital for multiple returns.

With contributions from some of the field’s leading experts in impact investing, “The ImpactAssets Handbook for Investors” will provide the reader with both broad advice and specific guidance on how to become best positioned to engage in impact investing as an asset owner, both large and small. While not an “answer book,” the handbook offers practical insights and presents critical questions every investor should consider in creating an investment strategy and executing the deployment of investment capital.

Jed Emerson, senior fellow at ImpactAssets, a nonprofit financial services firm, is an internationally recognized author and thought leader within the field of impact investing. He has led, co-founded and served on the board of directors of a variety of impact funds, social enterprises and family office investment committees. Originator of the concept of Blended Value, Emerson is coauthor of Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference (2011), the first book on impact investing (and winner of the 2012 Nautilus Gold Book Award), and The Impact Investor: Lessons in Leadership and Strategy for Collaborative Capitalism (2014).

List of Contributors; Introduction, Jed Emerson; 1. Construction of an Impact Portfolio: Total Portfolio Management for Multiple Returns, Jed Emerson and Lindsay Smalling; 2. Total Portfolio Management: One Practitioner’s Approach, Matthew Weatherley-White; Case Study 1; 3. Seed Stage Investing: High Impact, But Not for the Faint of Heart, Tim Freundlich, Jed Emerson and Lindsay Smalling; 4. Choosing Your Impact Investment Advisor, Brad Harrison and Stephanie Cohn- Rupp; Case Study 2; 5. Targeted Impact: Donor- Advised Funds and Impact Investing, Jointly authored by senior staff of ImpactAssets, RSF Social Finance and Tides Network; 6. Transformational Giving: Philanthropy as an Investment in Change, Kris Putnam-Walkerly; 7. Assessing Your Opportunities: The Challenge and Key Practices of Engaging in Investor Due Diligence, Sandra Osborne; Case Study 3; 8. The Measurement Challenge, Sara Olsen; 9. Communicating Impact: Frameworks for Messaging, Amy Hartzler; 10. A Journey to Impact: Initial Steps toward Impact Investing, Jennifer Kenning; Case Study 4; 11. Getting to Impact, Jed Emerson; 12. Concluding Thoughts on Mobilizing for Impact, Jed Emerson and Tim Freundlich; Appendix: Impact Investing Resources; Notes on Contributors; Index.

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“A much-needed guide for investors seeking to both understand the impact investing landscape and engage their own portfolios for impact. Full of examples and resources to provide guidance and insight along the journey.”
—Ron D. Cordes, Co-founder, Cordes Foundation

“The ImpactAssets Handbook for Investors takes a sledgehammer to the fossilized mind-set that financial returns are all that matter. Jed Emerson and his coauthors give color and texture to an approach to investment and business that is changing our economy more effectively […] than government.”
—Seth Goldman, Co-founder and TeaEO Emeritus, Honest Tea

“For investors who are serious about tackling social and environment issues, and considering making impact investments, this book is highly recommended. It is grounded in practical information, pragmatic advice and persuasive examples. Jed challenges traditional thinking, debunks myths and misperceptions about this powerful model of social change and makes impact investing accessible to an ever-widening circle of investors determined to change the world.”
—Amit Bouri, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Global Impact Investing Network