By Payton Dizney Swanson. Watch the full recording here.
At a time of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, Tideline’s 5th Annual Compass Series, held on June 10th, 2025, offered a timely outlook on the evolving state of the impact investing market. Featuring insights from a global panel of experts—Lori Chatman (Enterprise Community Partners), Tim Macready (Brightlight), Tereza Trivell (UN Joint Staff Pension Fund), and Abbey Schmitt (GCM Grosvenor)—the conversation unpacked both the headwinds facing the field and the promising developments that mark an increasingly sophisticated market. Below are key themes from the discussion, moderated by Tideline’s Jane Bieneman.
Impact Maturity Amid Market Volatility
Despite significant headwinds—including a more than 50% drop in private market impact capital raised in 2024 compared to its peak two years earlier—the panelists noted that interest and engagement in impact investing remains strong. Institutional investors with long time horizons continue to drive the market forward, recognizing impact as a critical component of portfolio construction for mitigating risks and capturing long-term value.
There is “resilience and even some momentum” Bieneman noted with respect to large asset owners continuing to enter the market; supported by “more product from the largest global asset managers, including newer asset classes to impact.” However, today’s market presents real challenges, especially for strategies like energy transition in the U.S., where political and regulatory hurdles have complicated the investment landscape.
When asked about the long-term outlook, panelists were optimistic. All agreed that impact investing is poised to become more embedded in the mainstream investment process—spanning asset classes, geographies, and client types.
“Impact is no longer just a sleeve, but I think it will really be a lens for entire portfolio construction” Schmitt predicted. “I think we’re going to see increased demand across regions and investor types.” This sentiment was echoed by Trivell, who sees impact fundamentals following a similar path as widely adopted responsible investing practices—progressing toward integration across a wide range of flagship financial products. Macready observed a similar progression with investors moving from negative screening strategies to actively pursuing investments that deliver both market-rate returns and positive impact when seeking to more closely align an organization’s portfolio with its values.
One critical development that is fueling the growth and resilience of the impact investing market is the strengthening business case of impact investing. Schmitt noted that early mainstream impact funds are reporting returns in line with their non-impact labelled products, and Chatman noted that the ability to demonstrate financial and impact returns side-by-side has helped her organization consistently raise funds through various economic cycles.
Customization is King
A common theme among the panelists was increasing demand for bespoke impact strategies. Schmitt discussed GCM Grosvenor’s experience that institutional investors increasingly favor solutions that are designed to align with their unique values, mandates, and risk-return expectations as compared to off-the-shelf product. Their clients also have growing demand for co-investment opportunities which have the potential to provide more flexibility and precision than do blind pool vehicles.
To meet increasing levels of intentionality, investors are moving away from “one-size-fits-all strategies,” Schmitt noted, and asking more deeply how they can “align [their] capital with [their] specific impact goals.”
Trivell echoed this sentiment from an asset owner’s perspective. As Director of Private Markets for UNJSPF, a global pension fund, Trivell has witnessed growing internal interest in aligning the organization’s private market allocations with the UN SDGs. She also emphasized the importance of taking an opportunistic approach across themes and asset classes, noting that her team has identified strong opportunities in energy transition within infrastructure, as well as in education and healthcare through private equity.
Thematic & Regional Nuance
Thematic focus areas in impact vary across geographies and investor types. In Europe, for example, Macready observed stronger regulatory pressure and investor interest in climate themes like biodiversity and Just Transition. Meanwhile, faith-based investors globally are more likely to focus on social themes than other asset owners.
Chatman, who oversees one of the largest U.S. platforms focused on community development, pointed out that amid a U.S. government pullback of funding in themes such as climate, there are impact priorities, like affordable housing, that maintain bipartisan support. Thematic areas where public-private partnership is possible, in her view, are critical to ensure more impact opportunities remain “a viable option, no matter what the macroeconomics.”
The Tech & Data Frontier
As impact investing matures, the need for more integrated, efficient data and technology solutions is clear. Panelists called attention to persistent fragmentation in how impact is measured, managed, and used across the industry.
Schmitt noted that investors are “still using multiple different data platforms to validate and structure their impact data in a more siloed approach,” but that this will evolve over time to integrated platforms that can be used across diligence, monitoring, and reporting. Trivell concurred, adding that there is still a lot of room to grow in using technology and AI to “collect data and become better and sharper investors.”
The consensus? Technology will play a central role in scaling the impact market, but the sector is still working through how to leverage technological advances to enable better data and better decisions.
Faith-Based Investing: A Growing Force
Macready offered insight into the burgeoning field of faith-based impact investing. Once focused largely on divestment (e.g., avoiding tobacco or weapons), this segment is now moving toward more affirmative investment strategies—particularly in underserved communities and social themes.
“We’re seeing meaningful interest and movement within these groups,” he said, but they “often struggle to find financial advisors and consultants who can help them navigate the impact space, as well as institutional concerns about performance and governance structures that act as substantial barriers to change.”
He highlighted the work of Brightlight (an investment management firm focused on values-led investors) in helping faith-based investors navigate these tensions, often through customized frameworks that reflect both religious principles and fiduciary duty.
You can watch the full recording of the Compass Series webinar here. Subscribe to Tideline’s mailing list and follow us on LinkedIn to stay informed of future events.