Impact Investing: Instruments, Mechanisms and Actors (Palgrave Studies in Impact Finance)

Impact investing is a dynamic field that has been recently been discussed as a supplemental funding source for addressing societal problems. The topic has generated significant interest and is presumed to achieve significant growth rates for the coming years. This book provides a refreshed yet comprehensive overview about the market, financial instruments and the associated impact assessment. Specifically, it covers the concept of impact investing within the broader field of social finance as well as the relevant (and new) actors, presents current financing instruments and the various tools to assess the impact of the investing strategy, and introduces valuation and fund modelling techniques which impact the investment decision of fund managers. This useful reference tool will be of interest to academics and researchers in the field of impact investing alongside students and practitioners in the space.

Wolfgang Spiess-Knafl is Co-Director of the European Center for Social Finance and Managing Director of Next Generation Impact in Vienna. He has worked on the development of the social finance market for the European Commission and written studies on social finance for the European Parliament or the European Liberal Forum, among others. Recently, he has written a book on “Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain for Social Impact”.

Barbara Scheck is the Professor for Entrepreneurship at Munich Business School and Co-Director of the European Center for Social Finance. Her research focuses on the financing of social enterprises, impact and mission-related investing and impact assessment. Prior to joining MBS, Barbara was assistant professor for social investment at Hamburg University.