2019 is proving to be a resonant year for social justice for a host of confluent reasons, including:
- Quadricentennial of the start of slavery in what became the United States of America, as examined by The 1619 Project
- BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, Time’s Up Now, The Poor People’s Campaign, and other movements
- Inclusion Riders in Hollywood and beyond
- publication of How to Be An Antiracist, Dying of Whiteness, Tomorrow Will Be Different, and others.
Moreover, for investors, these and other intersecting and colliding influences also exist within and alongside the context of:
- erratic and unpredictable geopolitical and trade dynamics
- increasingly frequent extreme weather events
- unprecedented and growing numbers of stateless persons, refugees, and asylum-seekers
- increasingly widespread (though not unanimous) anticipation of a looming crash
- failed and withdrawn IPOs
- equivocal venture capital returns.
Is this a moment of opportunity, calamity, or something else altogether? Where are capital allocators to look for sane options? We hear this very reasonable question voiced by thoughtful investors across the US and around the world—both impact-oriented and situationally aware return-only investors who are acutely aware that dramatic shifts are unfolding, and who find the models that served them well even in the very recent past no longer reliably hold. In response, we offer this Field Note in the spirit of sharing the good news we see in the midst of the chaotic churn of events.
In short, in the course of our work at Reinventure, we have formulated an empirical — non-scientific, far from exhaustive — assessment that the social impact investment opportunity in the US is highly favorable to both impact-oriented and return-only investors seeking to strengthen their portfolios and increase overall resilience to change. We hope this Field Note will inspire and embolden you to retire prevailing wisdom wherever it conflicts with evidence. We encourage you to discuss the findings and conclusions herein with colleagues, advisors, consultants, and clients, and to form your own fact-based opinions and action plans.
Please note that we focus this Field Note on gender and race in the US because these are the factors we know firsthand. We encourage you to take this Field Note as a catalyst to consider other social factors as well.
Finally, we welcome your comments, questions, and collaboration. What have we missed? Where might we join forces? We look forward to hearing from you.
Download the PDF
‘Field Note: Recognizing Social Impact Investment Opportunity, 2019’
Julianne Zimmerman
julianne@reinventurecapital.com
reinventurecapital.com
Special thanks to our outstanding intern Shijiro Ochirbat for painstakingly compiling the findings and citations reported here from both proprietary internal notes and databases and a host of public sources.
ABOUT REINVENTURE CAPITAL
Reinventure Capital is currently raising a $50M fund to invest in US-based expansion-stage (breakevenish) companies led by women and people of color. As highlighted in the 2017 Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum has determined it’s vital to global economic stability to address inequity in access to capital. And Reinventure President Ed Dugger‘s prior track record indicates it’s not just high-impact social, gender, and economic justice, it’s also astute investing: under his leadership, UNC Partners returned 32% IRR over its last ten years. For more on the Reinventure investment thesis and the context in which it is framed, see the Reinventure website and blog archive; or contact us via info@reinventurecapital.com.
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