Social Finance

require plans to file Statements of Investment Policies and Procedures (SIPPs) with the regulator and disclose whether or not their SIPPs address environmental, social or governance factors;

Leapfrog’s investments

Not everyone is convinced that impact investing is a true asset class. “Impact investing touches every asset class,” says Ron Cordes, who made a fortune in traditional finance before co-founding Impact Assets, an intermediary focused on building up the sector. “But many people think hedge funds are an asset class, and by that yardstick impact investment is, too.”

There is already demand from a broad mix of investors, as Leapfrog illustrates. Its backers range from philanthropists such as George Soros, a hedge-fund manager, and Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, to banks, reinsurers and pension funds.