2018 Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report

Impact Investment Continues to Grow Rapidly in Canada

The 2018 Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report reveals that impact investment continues to grow rapidly in Canada. This is the Responsible Investment Association’s third biennial impact investment survey, representing data as of December 31, 2017. The Report is based on self-reported data collected from 59 organizations by the Responsible Investment Association (RIA) and Rally Assets. We supplemented the survey data with publicly-available information on an additional 14 organizations. All figures are stated in Canadian dollars as at December 31st, 2017.

Download the full report

Impact investing refers to “investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social and environmental impact along with a financial return.”4 In the past two years, impact investing has grown from $8.15 billion to $14.75 billion in Canada.5 This significant growth is attributable to rising demand for impact across asset classes, including public markets. The vast majority of respondents expect continued growth in impact investing in the future, indicating strong momentum for this segment.

Highlights

  • Impact assets under management (AUM) in Canada now total $14.75 billion, up from $8.15 billion reported two years prior. This represents 81% growth over a two-year period, which is nearly double the growth rate of all responsible investment (RI) AUM, which grew by 41.6% over the same period.
  • Impact investments in Canada have expanded significantly into public markets, particularly into public equities that now represent 41% of impact AUM reported. Correspondingly, impact investment funds and managers now represent over half of impact AUM.
  • While impact investors target various rates of return for their investments, investors overwhelmingly reported that performance has met or exceeded their expectations.
  • According to survey respondents, the considerable growth of impact investing in Canada is likely to continue. 89% of respondents expect moderate to high levels of growth in impact investing over the next two years.
Download Report