Supporting investors
A growing number of investors are making impact investments, a trend that is set to continue. There are many ways different types of investors can have a significant impact and help improve the lives of people while also achieving their required rate of return. At Big Society Capital support investors on their impact journey, to help grow the amount of money invested in tackling social issues and inequalities in the UK.
The Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust
The Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust(the Trust) continued to be a key focus for our team as a key market building initiative. Difficult stock market conditions prevented additional capital raises in 2022, but engagement with investors continued around the launch of the Trust’s inaugural impact report in addition to the Annual and Interim Results. The Impact Report highlighted the impact that has already been achieved by its investments – financing 160 frontline organisations and benefiting more than 160,000 people, with at least 90% from vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. The Trust’s investments have generated a total of £55.6 million in near-term value as savings and benefits for households and the Government. Our team members also participated in several conferences and events, as well as press opportunities to support Schroder’s marketing of the Trust. In 2022, the Trust won Best ESG Investment Fund: Multi-Asset at the ESG Investing Awards.
- 160000 people reached through investment
- 90% from vulnerable/ disadvantaged backgrounds
- £55.6m savings to Government and UK households
Unlocking pension funds for impact
We teamed up with pension fund advisors Cardano to launch a joint UK social and affordable housing request for proposal, inviting investment managers to submit strategies for tackling the UK housing crisis.
Working with experienced advisers acting for and on behalf of UK pension funds provided an excellent opportunity to help raise awareness and channel large pools of capital towards this growing part of the real estate market. This work was further supported by an update to our report, Mapping the Market: UK Social and Affordable Housing Fund which aims to support institutional investors and their advisers as they navigate the rapidly evolving social and affordable housing fund market.
Unlocking endowments for impact
We were delighted to host a webinar on the topic of foundation endowments and the opportunities to allocate more of their investments towards impact, alongside a range of sector voices and networks, including the Association of Charitable Foundations and the Impact Investing Institute. This event is the start of a much wider, long-term piece of engagement, focusing on endowments and how they can allocate more of their investment portfolios towards impact.
Unlocking private assets for impact
It is estimated that between £2 and £11 billion of private investments could be redirected to impact investments, by enabling an ecosystem that encourages and supports increased levels of private wealth targeting impact. To aid this journey The Individual Impact Investing Commission, which includes representatives from Big Society Capital, published a report entitled ‘Unlocking Private Assets for Impact’. The report, which was launched at an event hosted by Cazenove Capital, sets out 12 recommendations and suggested actions to resolve the barriers that hold wealthy individuals and families back from impact investing.
Supporting networks, fund managers and intermediaries
In 2022, we established the Investment Network, which is focused on developing pro bono and low bono resources and partnerships to support us and our fund managers. As part of this work, we assisted with the recruitment of 13 non-executive directors and Investment Committee members for our partnered fund managers and frontline organisations, through our partnership with Equity Chair.
2022 saw the launch of our Fund Manager Resource Portal, providing intermediaries in our portfolio with access to a number of Big Society Capital developed tools and training materials.