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 2025 PROFILE

Illumen Capital

Total Assets Under Management: $100 – 499M
Asset Class: Private Equity
Primary UN Sustainable Development Goal: 10 – Reduced Inequalities
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Education
Health and Wellbeing

Firm Overview

Category: Fund of Funds

Illumen Capital is a Black-owned and operated impact fund addressing systemic inequity by reducing racial and gender bias in investing. We invest in leading funds, and then help managers adopt evidence- based tools and strategies designed to reduce bias across the firms and investment processes. Our engagement helps managers better identify, evaluate and invest in entrepreneurs who have been overlooked and underestimated, with the aim of ultimately unlocking better financial returns.

Firm Headquarters: United States
Years of Operation: 5 – 9 years
Total Assets Under Management:
$100 – 499M
Total Number of Investors: More than 25
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: Less than 25%
Investment Thesis:

Reducing racial and gender bias in the investment process leads to financial outperformance.

Investment Overview:

We believe the vast majority of investments are underperforming because of racial and gender bias, and bias in investing perpetuates systemic inequality. This is a structural problem that needs a structural solution. Illumen Capital leverages our power as investors to deliver evidence-based bias-reduction training and coaching for the fund managers we invest in. We help expand the investable landscape for fund managers, driving capital to entrepreneurs - and communities - that have long been overlooked and undervalued. An inclusive and optimal asset management industry will be the cornerstone of an equal and equitable future.

Company Differentiator:

Illumen Capital's model is a structural response to a structural problem: racial and gender bias within the capital markets. We are the only fund in the world that integrates rigorous, research-informed 10-year bias-reduction coaching and tools alongside investment capital.

Investment Example

Illumen Capital invests in funds that back early-stage companies addressing large environmental and/or social challenges. Parallel Learning*, an underlying portfolio company of one of Illumen’s managers, is a learning platform designed to diagnose and empower students with learning differences by offering personalized and evidence-based learning services. Students using Parallel Learning have reported significant progress, including grade improvement, positive behavioral changes, and increased excitement for learning. Founder Diana Helfond draws from her own challenges growing up with dyslexia and ADHD, and aims to streamline the process of matching students with appropriate specialists to improve accessibility to specialized education and empower children to take control of their learning. * Examples were chosen based on objective, non-performance based criteria for the purpose of describing the investment processes and analyses Illumen Capital uses to evaluate such investments.

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
Daryn Dodson – Managing Director More Info

Daryn is a passionate advocate of social and economic justice, especially for disadvantaged and marginalized groups. His work with impact investors, private equity funds, Fortune 100 companies, universities and foundations has been viewed through the lens of addressing the world’s most pressing social and environmental problems. Daryn previously led the Special Equities Program as a consultant to the Board of the Calvert Funds, a $12 billion pioneer of the impact investing field. Through this vehicle, Calvert maintains a portfolio of more than 40 funds on five continents, representing over 350 underlying portfolio companies.

Joanna Kuang – Senior Vice President of Product Development & Impact More Info

Joanna has dedicated her career to expanding access to capital in pursuit of inclusive justice for and alongside under-resourced people of color. She believes a combination of public, private, and philanthropic capital drives the most meaningful impact when coordinated towards a shared systemic goal. Prior to Illumen Capital, Joanna advised and built capacity for local, state, and federal governments on driving taxpayer dollars towards meaningful results for overlooked and underestimated communities at Third Sector Capital Partners. She began her career at Wellington Management, defining and managing impact for the institutional asset manager's sole impact investing portfolio.

Octavio Sandoval CFA, CAIA – Principal More Info

Octavio Sandoval, CFA, CAIA, genuinely seeks innovative solutions to address social and economic injustice facing historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. He believes structural problems require structural solutions. Prior to Illumen Capital, Octavio was a leader at MassMutual Life Insurance Company in building the emerging fund manager program, which allocated $50 million to a wide variety of BIPOC-led funds that invest in BIPOC-led startups. At MassMutual, Octavio also deployed over $500 million in allocations to various alternative investment strategies including private equity and private credit.

Financial Performance

Target Financial Returns Relative to Benchmark:
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 racial inequities
Secondary Impact Outcomes:
Addressing climate change and environmental issues
Increasing access to education and improving educational outcomes
Increasing access to financial services
Addressing gender inequities
Value-added Services Offered:
Racial bias training or bias training

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

Illumen Capital is a fund of funds, only targeting funds that operate in one or more of the following impact themes: education, health & wellness, financial inclusion and climate & sustainability. 

Impact Tracking and Monitoring

Impact is Tracked:
Yes
Impact Verified by an Independent Third-Party:
No
Social and/or Environmental Impact is Reported to Investors and Donors:
Yes – to investors and donors
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: Jason Henning
Phone: 206-310-4310
Mailing Address:

2323 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612 USA

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