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Insight: How investors are navigating the next era of impact
At the 2025 Investing for Impact Conference, John Morrow joined a panel exploring one of the most pressing questions facing the sector: how seriously are large-scale investors engaging with impact, and what does this mean for organisations seeking capital to create social value?
John noted that large asset owners in Europe, North America, and increasingly Asia recognise the strategic importance of impact seeing sustainability as a driver of value and a tool for managing risk, particularly as societal expectations rise and the boundaries between commercial and responsible investing continue to blur. Locally however he highlighted that only a small cohort has begun to meaningfully adjust their investment practices. For these leaders, impact is not about branding — it is a shift in decision-making, portfolio construction, and long-term value creation.
A central theme of the discussion was catalytic philanthropy and concessional capital. John observed that, used well, these tools can unlock projects and organisations that traditional finance will not yet support. But they require authenticity of intent: catalytic capital must genuinely absorb risk, create pathways for follow-on investors, and focus on the social value being enabled — not simply the optics of innovation.
For organisations seeking to raise capital for impact, John offered a few pragmatic suggestions including:
1. Anchor your proposition in clarity of purpose and measurable outcomes; investors increasingly expect a compelling theory of change supported by evidence.
2. Focus on partnership rather than funding alone. Many investors want to collaborate, learn, and contribute expertise, not simply provide capital.
The impact investing landscape in New Zealand will bedriven by investors and philanthropists willing to lead with integrity, patience, and genuine commitment to social good.
A deeper dive into John’s contributions to conference panel talk, “Investing for Impact” can be found here
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