Navigating Impact Investing: The Opportunity in Impact Classes

This working paper is intended to provide an overview of findings to date from the Navigating Impact Investing project and introduce the impact class concept. The Navigating Impact Investing project was created in Fall 2015 to explore the challenges of misunderstanding, inefficiency, and misalignment; how they are currently managed by practitioners; and what may be needed to help optimize the process of matching an investor's unique risk, return, and impact preferences with the right impact investment opportunities. The initiative was conceived and is supported by Omidyar Network, which has provided leadership and thought partnership to Tideline throughout the project.