According to Pitchbook, by share of capital raised, real assets—in the Impact space, largely infrastructure—has dominated Impact fundraising over time, constituting 68.0% of Impact capital raised since 2007, compared with only 9.4% of all private capital raised.
While 2022 was not a record year in infrastructure fundraising overall, a growing number of the funds raised in that space appear to be targeting progress toward environmental or social sustainability.
These funds target renewable energy or access to essential healthcare and education, as an example.
Many infrastructure themes require very large investment amounts, leading to very large funds and the dominance of these funds in the Impact universe.
Looking at the Impact universe without the influence of infrastructure, both PE and VC have been slightly overrepresented in the Impact universe versus the private market universe at the expense of FoF and secondaries.
Private debt is itself influenced by the Impact dominance of infrastructure, as six of the 10 largest private debt funds raised in the Impact space had infrastructure in their names.
Interestingly, until this year’s Blackstone fund, the majority of the top 10 were raised prior to 2021.
The Business of Impact Investing in 2023
Impact investing is a form of investing that believes that every dollar invested can make a difference, while producing a profit. Over the past 20 years, impact investing has undergone a remarkable evolution, driven by a confluence of societal, economic, and technological factors. These influences have propelled impact investing into a crucial mechanism for addressing societal needs, traditionally the domain of public funding. In 2022, the impact investing market sat at US$1,146 billion, growing at a healthy compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29% over the last four years. This special report features interviews with thought leaders in the impact investing space, and offers an insightful perspective on the current and future state of impact investing, its challenges and opportunities, and highlights case studies of investors, social enterprises, and the impact they are having on the world.