Data and greenwashing are the key impact concerns ‘keeping LPs up at night’

As impact investing moves up LPs’ agendas, reporting and data is “overwhelmingly the most pressing concern” on their mind, said Selina Nalane, client director, Old Mutual Alternative Investments.

Speaking at PEI Media’s recent Investor Relations Marketing Communications Forum in London, a panel of client relation experts commented on what enquiries and concerns LPs are expressing when it comes to impact investing.

Old Mutual Alternative Investments manages $557 million of assets across five active impact funds in Africa. Nalane, who manages institutional client relationships, said GPs should gear up for more questions around impact data.

This comes as appetite for impact investing grows globally, said Nalane. “European LPs are leading the way with US following close behind, and based on the international demand they see from these LPs, local African investors too are starting to pay attention to impact”.

As the strategy grows, LPs are becoming more focused on “standardised reporting around impact measuring and management”, Nalane said. “LPs are asking more and more questions around how data is sliced and diced.”

Katie Manescu, associate, client solutions at impact GP Blue Earth Capital, said “greenwashing and impact washing” is another fear “keeping investors up at night”.

“In the past year, we’ve seen a number of very large players fall foul of this, so transparency has become even more important in getting that LP commitment,” she said.