The Nine Principles
The Impact Principles
In March 2021, Invest in Visions signed the Operating Principles for Impact Management (“the Impact Principles”) . These were launched in 2019 by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank. The Impact Principles provide a framework to ensure that impact orientation is effectively integrated into the entire investment process. Nine principles have been established for this purpose.
The nine Operating Principles of Impact Management:
1. Define strategic impact objective(s), consistent with the investment strategy.
2. Manage strategic impact on a portfolio basis.
3. Establish the Manager’s contribution to the achievement of impact.
4. Assess the expected impact of each investment, based on a systematic approach.
5. Assess, address, monitor, and manage potential negative impacts of each investment.
6. Monitor the progress of each investment in achieving impact against expectations and respond appropriately.
7. Conduct exits considering the effect on sustained impact.
8. Review, document, and improve decisions and processes based on the achievement of impact and lessons learned.
9. Publicly disclose alignment with the Impact Principles and provide regular independent verification of the alignment.
The basic idea of impact management is that impact considerations are anchored in all steps of the investment process – from the initial review of an investment, through regular monitoring, to the final analysis when an investment expires or is terminated.
The principles are based on the constantly evolving best practices of impact investors. They are designed to help investors find investments that are managed according to internationally recognized impact criteria. Around 170 impact investors from 39 countries worldwide have already committed to these principles.
We published our third Statement on how the principles are anchored in our investment processes on March 31, 2024.
In October 2024, we were again audited by BlueMark, the leading provider of independent verification in the field of impact management, and were awarded high to advanced ratings.