Impact Investment Funds Webinar Series

Paul Hastings partnered with ClearlySo, Europe’s leading impact investment bank, and Octopus Investments to launch an online series focused on exploring impact investment across multiple topics at a time when interest in the sector is surging.

The series brought together experts across the investment sector to discuss the latest trends and market responses in a series of topical panels covering healthcare, impact-washing, debt funds, sustainable energy & renewables, food and real estate. The series finale included special guest speakers, American economist and Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz and former Dutch Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who discussed economic recovery and the outlook for a post-COVID-19 environment.

Webinar One: Innovations in the Health Sector

This webinar showcases how funds in public and private markets are backing emerging new technologies which promise to help increase quality of care whilst reducing costs for health care commissioners and insurers. The webinar will arm LP investors with an understanding of the health sector and provide insights to help inform fund allocations.

You can watch a recording of the webinar here.

Webinar Two: How to Identify and Call Out Impact Washing

This webinar explores the chasm between the CSR press release and effective impact investment strategies as almost all large scale established asset management firms announce a shift towards ESG/impact strategies.  The webinar discusses some of the key questions and concerns LP investors face when assessing new impact fund products, and how to ensure the positive impacts promised by managers will actually be achieved.

You can watch a recording of the webinar here.

Webinar Three: The Emergence of Impact Investment Debt Funds

This webinar looks at the plethora of debt funds, with an impact approach, coming to the market, and how they address a different variety of needs, both with regard to investors and investees.  The webinar discusses specific debt fund vehicles and how they are being structured and utilised to address differing market circumstances.

You can watch a recording of the webinar here.

Webinar Four: Sustainable Energy & Renewables

This webinar examined how the shift away from carbon is one of the great mainstream investment opportunities of the century - opportunities which go beyond energy production. Panellists explored a number of issues and identified some of the most attractive investments and investment themes.

You can watch a recording of the webinar here.

Webinar Five: The Future of Food

This webinar takes a deep dive into The Future of Food. With food considered the largest industry in the world, institutional investors have started to take notice of the changes underfoot and consider how to integrate the evolving market dynamics into their investment theses. To help navigate the emerging food tech sector, panellists discuss the changes underfoot and how we all might be eating in the years to come.

You can watch a recording of the webinar here.

Webinar Six Real Estate: Rupture & Recovery, Risks & Returns

This webinar takes in a wide sweep of players in the real estate market, with panellists bringing their differing views and perspectives of real estate impact funds making for a lively and engaging discussion.

You can watch a recording of the webinar here.

Webinar Seven: Economic Recovery

2020 has been an unusual year and the global community is facing its greatest challenge in decades from an economic, social and health standpoint. While governments have spent trillions supporting economies/businesses/individuals in the advent of the pandemic, the private sector has an enormous role to play in helping to address wide ranging challenges. Impact funds will be a big part of this and many funds targeting the generation of jobs in this transitional environment will be highly impactful.

As the last in the series of webinars, special guest speakers, American economist and Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz and former Dutch Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem, discuss the outlook for a post-COVID-19 environment.

• Can we will build back better and address some of the longstanding challenges of our societies?
• What does this mean and how can we do this?
• What will be the investment opportunities to generate the highest impact and returns?

You can watch a recording of the webinar here.