Making
the Mark
2022
Spotlighting Leadership
in Impact Management
Spotlight on Impact Leadership
In this third annual Making the Mark report, the BlueMark team analyzed data based on the aggregated results of 60 practice verifications for impact investors managing a combined $160 billion in impact assets under management. Scroll down for a snapshot of the key elements of this year’s report, and download the full report to learn more!
60
BlueMark verifications of impact management practices
$160B
Combined impact-oriented assets under management
41%
Completed third-party verifications for signatories to the Operating Principles for Impact Management
The Benchmark for Impact Investing Practice 2022
Introduced in the 2021 Making the Mark report, the BlueMark Practice Benchmark categorizes practice ratings by quartile, providing a mechanism for investors to compare themselves to their peers and to learn from others in the market.
See below for this year’s Practice Benchmark and see how your firm stacks up against the rest of the impact investing industry.
BlueMark Practice Benchmark
BlueMark ratings of investor alignment with the Impact Principles
Learning Practice represents the bottom quartile of our sample (25th percentile and below).
Median Practice reflects the impact management practices of the median impact investor in our sample (50th percentile).
Leading Practice represents the top quartile of our sample (75th percentile and above).
Description
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BlueMark’s Inaugural Practice Leaderboard
In an effort to spotlight industry leaders, we took our Practice Benchmark data a step further this year by publicly naming investors to a “Practice Leaderboard” – based on their achievement of top quartile ratings across all the Principles in our benchmark.
See below for the inaugural edition of the Practice Leaderboard and click on each firm’s name to see how their practice ratings measure up against the median rating.
| NAME, ASSET CLASS | IMPACT THEMES | |
|---|---|---|
| Bain Capital Double Impact1 Private Equity |
North America |
|
| Finance in Motion Private and Public Debt, Private Equity |
Global Emerging Markets |
|
| LeapFrog Private Equity |
Sub-Saharan Africa South and Southeast Asia |
|
| Nuveen Private Equity Global Impact Private Equity |
Global |
|
| Trill Impact Private Equity |
Europe |
|
1- Bain Capital Double Impact is not a signatory to the Impact Principles.
Practice Benchmark Findings by Investor Type
The aggregated verification results in this year’s Making the Mark also reveal insights by various investor types and strategies. Click on each of the categories below to see an example of how three investor types compare to the median rating, and download Making the Mark to learn more about BlueMark’s key findings.
| Development Finance Institutions | Specialist Impact-Only Asset Managers | Diversified Asset Managers |
Key Findings
BlueMark’s updated 2022 Practice Dashboard demonstrates a richer, more nuanced view of the impact management practices underlying each of the Principles.
Download Making the Mark to learn more about how investors are performing across 20 distinct impact practices.
%
Despite growing discussion about impact-linked compensation structures, the practice remains limited. Only 38% of impact management systems explicitly integrate impact considerations into staff incentives, with performance development and review processes identified as the most common method (25% of verified investors). Meanwhile, more direct financial accountability mechanisms — such as annual bonuses or impact-linked carry — are less common at 17% and 3% adoption, respectively.
%
Investors vary significantly in their establishment of ex-ante impact targets, compromising the market’s ability to gauge success. While 63% of impact investors monitor impact performance against an expectation — such as a baseline KPI or qualitative impact rating — the quality of target-setting practices varies widely. For instance, only 22% of verified investors have a clear protocol for engaging investees in the event of impact performance, partly due to the lack of clarity on what over- or under-achievement looks like from an impact perspective.
%
An increasing number of impact investors are engaging with key stakeholders and actively solicit their input. Less than a third of impact investors (28%) engage with key affected stakeholders and actively solicit their input, an increase of 17 percentage points compared to last year’s research sample. While still a minority practice, the commitment to solicit input from target stakeholders experiencing the impact outcomes is a key part of impact management and monitoring.
Download the 2022 Making the Mark report to learn more about best practices in impact management.
And to learn more about BlueMark’s approach to impact verification, download last year’s Making the Mark report on investor alignment with the Impact Principles or visit our Resources page.
ABOUT BLUEMARK
BlueMark, a Tideline company, is a leading provider of impact verification services in the impact investing market. BlueMark was founded with a mission to “strengthen trust in impact investing” and to help bring more accountability to the impact investment process. BlueMark is an independent subsidiary of Tideline Advisors, LLC, a certified women-owned advisory firm in impact investing. Since its founding in 2014, Tideline has become a recognized leader in impact management and measurement, working with leading asset owners and managers to design and implement impact management systems.
Making
the Mark
2022
Spotlighting Leadership in Impact Management
Spotlight on Impact Leadership
In this third annual Making the Mark report, the BlueMark team analyzed data based on the aggregated results of 60 practice verifications for impact investors managing a combined $160 billion in impact assets under management. Scroll down for a snapshot of the key elements of this year’s report, and download the full report to learn more!
60
BlueMark verifications of impact management practices
$160B
Combined impact-oriented assets under management
41%
Completed third-party verifications for signatories to the Operating Principles for Impact Management
The Benchmark for Impact Investing Practice 2022
Introduced in the 2021 Making the Mark report, the BlueMark Practice Benchmark categorizes practice ratings by quartile, providing a mechanism for investors to compare themselves to their peers and to learn from others in the market.
See below for this year’s Practice Benchmark and see how your firm stacks up against the rest of the impact investing industry.
BlueMark Practice Benchmark
BlueMark ratings of investor alignment with the Impact Principles
Leading Practice represents the top quartile of our sample (75th percentile and above).
Median Practice reflects the impact management practices of the median impact investor in our sample (50th percentile).
Learning Practice represents the bottom quartile of our sample (25th percentile and below).
BlueMark’s Inaugural Practice Leaderboard
BlueMark’s Inaugural Practice Leaderboard
In an effort to spotlight industry leaders, we took our Practice Benchmark data a step further this year by publicly naming investors to a “Practice Leaderboard” – based on their achievement of top quartile ratings across all the Principles in our benchmark.
Bain Capital Double Impact*
ASSET CLASS: Private Equity
GEOGRAPHY: North America
IMPACT THEMES:
- Health & Wellness
- Education & Workforce Development
- Sustainability
* Bain Capital Double Impact is not a signatory to the Impact Principles.
Finance in Motion
ASSET CLASS: Private and Public Debt, Private Equity
GEOGRAPHY: Global Emerging Markets
IMPACT THEMES:
- Entrepreneurship & Livelihoods
- Green Economy
- Climate Finance
- Financial Inclusion
LeapFrog
ASSET CLASS: Private Equity
GEOGRAPHY: Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia
IMPACT THEMES:
- Financial Inclusion
- Healthcare
Nuveen Private Equity Global Impact
ASSET CLASS: Private Equity
GEOGRAPHY: Global
IMPACT THEMES:
- Resource Efficiency
- Inclusive Growth
Trill Impact
ASSET CLASS: Private Equity
GEOGRAPHY: Europe
IMPACT THEMES:
- Multi-theme (SDG-aligned impact)
Key Findings
BlueMark’s updated 2022 Practice Dashboard demonstrates a richer, more nuanced view of the impact management practices underlying each of the Principles.
Download Making the Mark to learn more about how investors are performing across 20 distinct impact practices.
%
Despite growing discussion about impact-linked compensation structures, the practice remains limited. Only 38% of impact management systems explicitly integrate impact considerations into staff incentives, with performance development and review processes identified as the most common method (25% of verified investors). Meanwhile, more direct financial accountability mechanisms — such as annual bonuses or impact-linked carry — are less common at 17% and 3% adoption, respectively.
%
Investors vary significantly in their establishment of ex-ante impact targets, compromising the market’s ability to gauge success. While 63% of impact investors monitor impact performance against an expectation — such as a baseline KPI or qualitative impact rating — the quality of target-setting practices varies widely. For instance, only 22% of verified investors have a clear protocol for engaging investees in the event of impact performance, partly due to the lack of clarity on what over- or under-achievement looks like from an impact perspective.
%
An increasing number of impact investors are engaging with key stakeholders and actively solicit their input. Less than a third of impact investors (28%) engage with key affected stakeholders and actively solicit their input, an increase of 17 percentage points compared to last year’s research sample. While still a minority practice, the commitment to solicit input from target stakeholders experiencing the impact outcomes is a key part of impact management and monitoring.
Download the 2022 Making the Mark report to learn more about best practices in impact management.
And to learn more about BlueMark’s approach to impact verification, download last year’s Making the Mark report on investor alignment with the Impact Principles or visit our Resources page.
ABOUT BLUEMARK
BlueMark, a Tideline company, is a leading provider of impact verification services in the impact investing market. BlueMark was founded with a mission to “strengthen trust in impact investing” and to help bring more accountability to the impact investment process. BlueMark is an independent subsidiary of Tideline Advisors, LLC, a certified women-owned advisory firm in impact investing. Since its founding in 2014, Tideline has become a recognized leader in impact management and measurement, working with leading asset owners and managers to design and implement impact management systems.