By: Chris Killian

Social impact investing describes the direction of investment funds to opportunities or companies that have desirable environmental, governance or social factors, and is related to social finance, which involves the use financial assets or instruments to fund projects that have a positive social or environmental impact.

Through impact investing, America’s capital markets enable programs to improve local outcomes and help communities combat the challenges of long-standing problems such as poverty, pollution, and other social needs.

SIFMA hosted a roundtable on Social Impact Investing with industry experts and Members of Congress. The event fueled a discussion on the role of America’s capital markets in creating and funding programs designed to improve local communities. Participants discussed Social Finance’s Pay for Success Programs, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership in South Carolina and the Connecticut Family Stability Project; and Morgan Stanley’s underwriting work for Sustainable Neighborhood Bond, which funds affordable housing in New York, and its Investing with Investing with Impact Platform and Sustainable Investing Portfolios, which allow investors of all sizes to invest with impact, making scale in the social finance market possible.

 See Also:
 Project Invested

 SIFMA would like to extend a special thank you to our roundtable participants who provided their expertise and delivered insights into this emerging sector: Representative Tom MacArthur
(R-NJ); Representative John Delaney (D-MD); Representative Tom Reed (R-Y); Representative Jared Polis (D-CO); Audrey Choi, CEO, Institute for Sustainable Investing, Morgan Stanley; Stephen Freedman, Head of Thematic and Sustainable Investing Strategy US, UBS; and Navjeet Bal, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Social Finance.