Social Impact Investing
How investors generate financial returns while solving poverty, education, and climate—the $1 trillion market where profit meets purpose
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Traditional investing maximizes profits. Philanthropy maximizes impact. Impact investing tries to do both. The promise: invest in companies solving education, healthcare, climate problems—and still earn market-rate returns. The skepticism: you can't serve two masters. Profit or purpose?
Impact investing is now a $1+ trillion market. BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and pension funds allocate billions to "ESG" and "impact" strategies. But critics ask: is this real systemic change, or greenwashing with better marketing? The answer determines whether capitalism can solve its own externalities—or if profit always wins.
The Spectrum: Where Does Your Money Go?
Not all "impact" investing is equal. Four distinct approaches:
💡The Core Tension
Impact investing claims you don't have to choose between profit and purpose. Critics say that's naive—when forced to choose, profit always wins. The trillion-dollar question: can markets solve problems they created, or do we need different rules?
Market Size: The $1T+ Impact Economy
Impact investing exploded from niche experiment to mainstream strategy:
Global Impact Investment Distribution
Where impact capital flows—developed vs emerging markets: