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

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Nuveen, a leading global investment manager, today has released a report identifying five key investment opportunities for impact investors in 2020 and beyond. The report, Raising the Bar – Impact Investing in a Changing World, highlights Nuveen’s 30-year track record as an impact investor and how during its three-decades of market leadership it has produced transparent and measurable social and environmental outcomes along with risk-adjusted financial returns for investors.

“At the core of our impact investment thesis is the emerging low-income consumer and the belief that they are underserved in their access to basic products and services,” said Rekha Unnithan, Co-Head of Private Markets Impact Investing at Nuveen. “We’re excited by how the industry has evolved and looking ahead, we believe the transition to a more sustainable world, and the investment opportunities to help achieve this, will be driven by five themes – financial inclusion, healthcare, education, affordable housing and resource efficiency.”

Unnithan, who presented Nuveen’s approach to impact and focus areas as part of a panel at the Global Responsible Investing Forum in New York, has been with Nuveen since the launch of its global impact investing strategy in 2012. Since then, the strategy has allocated more than $1 billion in impact investments on behalf of Nuveen’s parent company, TIAA, and other institutional investors.

In 2018 alone, Nuveen’s investments produced the following positive material impacts:

• 176 million low income beneficiaries reached
• 240,000 jobs supported, including 73,000 held by women
• 152 million borrowers received access to financing – 129 million of which were low-income individuals
• 14 million low-income patients treated across 360 hospitals and clinics
• 1.8m metric tons of CO₂ reduced, equal to 382,000 cars taken off the road
• 79,660 tons of waste recycled

“Today we are witnessing an unprecedented wave of capital that seeks to make a difference for both people and the planet. We are proud that Nuveen has been at the forefront of this change, offering investors access to an impressive range of impact opportunities which have the potential to generate financial returns, while at the same time supporting communities around the world,” said Vijay Advani, CEO of Nuveen and GIIN board member.

With nearly five decades of responsible investing leadership, Nuveen is committed to three principles of Responsible Investing—environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration, engagement and impact, as a means of advancing better outcomes for investors, communities and the environment.

The full report is available to download here. For more information about Nuveen’s approach to responsible investing, please visit www.nuveen.com/NuveenKnowsRI.

Photo courtesy of unerbul.