The global impact investing market is estimated to have grown to $1.6trn, according to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).
Based on research conducted by GIIN in the 2024 edition of their biannual Sizing the Impact Investing Market report, this figure is up more than $400bn since 2022 – representing 21% compound annual growth of the total market since 2019. This indicates “growing mainstream acceptance” of impact investing, according to the report, even in the face of global unrest, inflation and increasing impacts of climate change.
In GIIN co-founder and CEO Amit Bouri’s keynote speech at the forum, where he announced this number, Bouri characterised the total value of the impact market as “a really significant number,” and one that is “helping to create real-world solutions that make people’s lives better… bringing hope for a better, brighter future.”
“I’m so inspired to see how far the impact investing industry has come in the past 15 years,” Bouri continued. “The scale of our ambitions is defined by the scale of the world’s problems. We’ll know that our work is done when the world’s problems are solved. Until then, I’m thankful for everyone working to make impact investing the default investment, putting capital towards solutions.”
Findings
To calculate the market size figure, the GIIN used generally accepted market sizing principles to inform the methodology and build a comprehensive database of impact assets under management (AUM) managed by organisations deploying an impact investing strategy.
The average investment portfolio held $986m in impact AUM, while the median portfolio held $42m. According to the report, this suggests the average organisation’s allocation to impact investing remains relatively small, but that uptake among large organisations is growing.
Additionally, over half (59%) of organisations were repeats from the GIIN’s 2022 market sizing exercise. The mix of new and repeat organisations in 2024, they said, indicates the entry of new players in the impact investing field, alongside steady growth in the impact assets of existing funds.
Investment managers accounted for the majority of organisations in the sample (59%) and represented 27% of global impact AUM. Pension funds accounted for 14% of organisations in the sample but represented the plurality of AUM at 29%. Insurance companies, meanwhile, represented just 4% of the sample, but 19% of AUM.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of organisations were found to be headquartered in developed markets, primarily Western, Northern and Southern Europe (45%) and the US and Canada (34%). Investors based in these developed markets managed 95% of impact AUM.
Marc Moser, head of impact at Lightrock, commented: “I would expect that we are continuing to see stable growth of the market over the coming years. This growth will be fuelled by a steadily rising demand from an increasingly diversified investor base, particularly larger institutional investors.”
