Global Study Shows Impact Investing Interest Is Growing

Earlier this week, IFA Magazine published an article entitled “Interest in Impact Investing at All-Time High Worldwide” in which it referenced a global study.  In the United States, the percentage of individuals who find impact investing appealing has jumped from 51% to 61% since 2020.  Perhaps most interestingly, millennials have registered the largest interest in impact investing across numerous countries: 67% in the UK, 66% in the U.S., and 68% in Australia.  What makes this relevant is that many commentators have noted there will be a large scale shift of wealth to millennials by baby boomers in the coming years.  This begs the question whether millennials will choose to invest in benefit corporations and forego traditional charitable giving avenues.

The study also noted that the environment was the largest concern internationally.  For example, 34% of those in the UK, 30% in Australia, and 34% in Germany were concerned primarily about climate change.  Americans were chiefly concerned with health care.  The top concern for 25% of U.S. individuals surveyed were health, including disease prevention and cures.   Finally, the study also noted the growing concern about greenwashing in the U.K.  Greenwashing is the practice of using marketing spin to deceive the public about how environmentally friendly a company’s products, aims, and policies are. It will be interesting to see what U.K. policies are put into place to stop this practice.

 

Khrista McCarden

Hoffman Fuller Associate Professor of Tax Law

Tulane Law School