NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, December 18, 2017

Making money is the lifeblood of Wall Street. Making the world a better place not so much.

Now that’s starting to change, as some of the biggest names in finance adjust their businesses to reflect growing demand for impact investments.

“It’s a $250 billion market and it’s growing fast,” said Michael Baldinger, a 30-year industry veteran who joined UBS (UBS) Asset Management as head of sustainable and impact investing — a new role — just over a year ago. “It might really be a game-changer for the finance industry.”

Banks and asset managers are thinking seriously about how to cater to investors who want a measurable social or environmental return on their investment as well as capital gains, stock dividends or interest payments.

“In the past you sold products to your client, now you empower your client to create a desired impact,” Baldinger said. “As an industry we’ve had to rethink everything we do — impact and sustainability is the Silicon Valley of finance and we want to be the Google.”