IMPACTASSETS 50™

An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

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An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

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ImpactAssets 50: A Global Landscape of Impact Investment Fund Managers
The ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50) is the first open-source, publicly published database of experienced private debt and equity impact investment fund managers.
https://www.impactassets.org/impactassets-50

ImpactAssets 50

An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

IA 50 2022 PROFILE

Calvert Impact Capital

Total Assets Under Management: $500 – 999M
Asset Class: Private Debt - Absolute Return / Notes
Primary UN Sustainable Development Goal: 10 – Reduced Inequalities
Clean Technology, Alternative Energy & Climate Change
Affordable Housing & Community Development
Small/Medium Business Development

Firm Overview

Category: Private Debt - Other

Calvert Impact Capital (CIC) is a proven market leader in the global impact investing industry, with over $3 billion raised and 100% repayment of principal and interest to more than 19,000 lifetime investors over a 25-year history. CIC's flagship product is a unique and accessible fixed-income security - the Community Investment Note® (the Note) - which channels capital to a diversified portfolio of organizations creating measurable social and environmental impact around the world. Note investors are institutional, accredited, and retail investors, and Note purchases range from $20 to over $20 million. The Note blends financial, social, and environmental returns into one accessible product with exposure to more than 100 countries, all 50 US states plus DC and Puerto Rico, and 9 diverse impact sectors including community development, environmental sustainability, small business, and more.  Additionally, CIC offers loan syndications services to originate, structure, and administer loans for institutional and accredited lenders.

Firm Headquarters: US & Canada
Years of Operation: 10 years or more
Total Assets Under Management:
$500 – 999M
Total Number of Investors: More than 25
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: Less than 25%
Investment Thesis:

We raise capital from individual and institutional investors to finance sectors that mainstream capital markets aren’t comfortable with (yet), but that have potential for transformative impact and work to get capital flowing more efficiently and at scale.

Investment Overview:

CIC prioritizes both financial resiliency and lasting impact, and our portfolio strategy is focused on creating more inclusive and accessible markets around the world. CIC makes investments that create a positive, measurable impact as well as financial return across nine sectors including: small business finance, renewable energy, health, microfinance, sustainable agriculture, education, environmental sustainability, and community development. Each sector has a unique impact thesis and strategy that outlines the impact CIC seeks in that sector, how impact is measured, and what role CIC’s capital plays in strengthening local markets. CIC conducts thorough due diligence on each of our portfolio partners and has rigorous credit quality and social performance standards. CIC helps our borrowers to build, grow, and sustain their portfolios, organizational strength, and the impact that they have on the ground.

Company Differentiator:

CIC is known for our track record of innovation, impact, and financial performance of a 100% repayment rate of principal and interest to all investors throughout our 25-year history. Through the Community Investment Note®, CIC has a diversified portfolio across impact sectors and geographies, creates measurable social and environmental impact, and is managed by a team with deep credit analysis, risk management, and impact measurement and management (IMM) expertise. Complementing our strong portfolio performance is a capitalization cushion of over $100 million to protect investors against any potential portfolio losses. More than 6,000 individual and institutional investors, as well as hundreds of financial advisors, have conveniently made investments ranging from $20 to $20 million via CIC’s online investment platform or through over 135 brokerage firms. Beyond the Note, CIC provides syndications services, thought leadership, and other industry resources to support moving investment capital toward creating an equitable and sustainable world.

Investment Example

One of our borrowers is Greenline Ventures ("Greenline"), a financial services company that specializes in serving the unmet capital needs of small businesses. Their objectives include job creation and retention, worker training, improving employee benefits, boosting minority and women-owned businesses, and reducing environmental impacts. In December 2016, Greenline launched a $20 million Small Business Capital Fund (SBCF I) to provide affordable loans to underserved small businesses in distressed census tracts throughout the US. SBCF I leverages federal tax credits with mission-driven capital to provide flexible, patient financing to small businesses. After the success of SBCF I, Greenline launched the SBCF II in 2018 with the same goal of creating quality jobs and wealth-building opportunities for low-income populations in under-invested communities. Calvert Impact Capital syndicated both funds and made a larger loan to Greenline's second fund to help them grow their impact. All of our borrowers can be found at https://calvertimpactcapital.org/investing/portfolio/community-investment-note-portfolio.

Leadership and Team

Cumulative Leadership Experience in Impact Investing:
30 years or more
Cumulative Impact Experience of Top Three Firm Leaders:
30 years or more
Jennifer Pryce – President and CEO More Info

Jenn Pryce is President and CEO of Calvert Impact Capital. Having worked at Calvert Impact Capital for nearly a decade, Jenn has shaped the strategic direction of the organization to lead on rising trends such as investing with a gender lens and making impact investing more accessible to retail investors. Jenn started off in the Peace Corps working in Africa where she was exposed to the frustrating limited flows of capital to lower income communities. From there she set off to work for major banks in New York and London including NeubergerBerman and Morgan Stanley focusing on capital streams in emerging markets. She then realized she could hone her focus on investing in a socially responsible way supporting underserved communities. She has since committed her career to impact investing at Calvert Impact Capital.

Derek Strocher – CFO More Info

Derek is an accomplished and innovative strategic thinker with over 20 years of international expertise gained at large for-profit corporations in North America and Europe. Prior to joining Calvert Impact Capital, Derek led the Innovative Finance portfolio at the World Bank, working with governments around the world to explore and design innovative financial solutions to address problems in development. As Chief Financial Officer at Calvert Impact Capital, Derek oversees all financial activity of the organization and provides strategic leadership as a partner to the CEO and Board. Derek served on the Audit and Finance Committee of the GAVI Alliance for three years; on the board of the Treasury Management Association (Calgary) for two years; and currently sits on Calvert Impact Capital's Board Investment Committee. He also volunteers with Honor Flight to help bring American WWII veterans to see their memorial in Washington, D.C.

Justin Conway – VP of Investment Partnerships More Info

Justin Conway is Vice President of Investment Partnerships at Calvert Impact Capital, an impact investment firm helping people and institutions invest for racial, gender, economic, and climate justice. Justin manages the Community Investment Note program and the Investor Relations team that has supported over 20,000 investors and financial professionals on their impact investing journeys. He also sits on the Staff Investment Committee, and led Calvert Impact Capital’s subsidiary investment advisor in providing customized portfolio services to impact investors.

Percentage of Investment Professionals who identify as women:
50% or more
Percentage of Investment Professionals who identify as people of color:*
25% to less than 50%
Percentage of Senior Management Team who identify as women:
50% or more
Percentage of Senior Management Team who identify as people of color:*
25% to less than 50%
*People of color include: Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American/Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander, Middle Easterm and multi-racial Americans

Financial Performance

Target Financial Returns Relative to Benchmark:
Near-market Rates
Actual Performance of Impact Products/Funds Relative to Target Financial Returns in the Past Three Years:
In line with initial target returns
Financial Reporting Frequency to Investors or Donors
Quarterly

Impact Performance

Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments:
100%
Primary Impact Outcomes:
Addressing climate change and environmental issues
Alleviating poverty
Conserving land, oceans, ecosystems and natural resources
Creating jobs
Increasing access to education and improving educational outcomes
Increasing access to financial services
Increasing access to healthcare services and improving health
Increasing access to water and sanitation
Providing housing
Addressing racial inequities
Addressing gender inequities
Value-added Services Offered:
Access to markets
Business and legal training
Other: Impact management advisory

Investments systematically target companies where social and/or environmental impact is integral to the product/service being created:

Each investment in Calvert Impact Capital's portfolio is provided to a borrower with an articulated impact theory and methodology for tracking and measuring output metrics as a result of their work. Progress towards the impact goals analyzed in Calvert Impact Capital's due diligence process is monitored on an annual or quarterly basis, depending on the investment. Performance on these goals is an important consideration when analyzing whether to renew an investment. 

Investments systematically include social and environmental sustainability practices in the due diligence process:

Calvert Impact Capital pays careful attention to each borrower's social and environmental sustainability practices as part of its underwriting. Both upstream and downstream business cycles must be determined to be acceptable and fit into Calvert Impact Capital's impact theory with social and environmental benefits. References are checked as part of underwriting and one of the screening questions deals directly with these impacts. Calvert Impact Capital actively looks to lend to organizations with strong internal social/environmental policies and practices, including board and staff diversity, and preference for those using green/sustainable practices.

Impact Tracking and Monitoring

Impact is Tracked:
Yes
Impact Verified by an Independent Third-Party:
Social and/or Environmental Impact is Reported to Investors and Donors:
Yes – to the public
Third Party Validations:
Member of Impact Capital Managers
Impact Frontiers Cohort Participant
Implement recommendations from Task Force on Climate Related-Financial Disclosure
Net Zero Assets Managers Initiative
Utilizes standardized impact metrics (e.g. IRIS+, GIIRS, etc.)
Participant on steering committees or leadership roles within impact industry associations
Publisher or contributor to industry white paper or other research in impact investing

Learn More

Key Contact Name: Calvert Impact Capital
Phone: 301-280-6040
Mailing Address:

7550 Wisconsin Avenue, 8th Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA

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