Impact Investors Retreat as Global Shutdown, Social Unrest Raise Fears and Uncertainty
By Bruce Rule
Impact investing’s decline accelerated in the second quarter, as the twin blows of COVID-19 and social protests hit the sector in different ways.
Total second-quarter investments dropped 81% to $398.8 million from $2.1 billion a year ago, and totaled less than one-sixth of the $2.57 billion first-quarter capital invested, according to PitchBook data. The quarter was the worst in at least a decade, according to PitchBook.
The number of second-quarter deals fell to 25 from 65 a year ago, and slid from 46 in the first quarter. The decline accelerated from the first quarter’s bad news.
“The pandemic was the right uppercut to the jaw,” Michael Scanlon, managing director of Marketing and Capital Introduction at Silver Leaf Partners, told Karma. At the same time, social unrest following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody added to investors’ concerns about how quickly economies can recover.
Photo courtesy of GotCredit.
Source: Karma (link opens in a new window)
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