ClearlySo client capital raising activity soars 200 percent as impact investing enters mainstream

ClearlySo, Europe’s leading impact investment bank, announced today that client capital raising activity has increased 200 percent since 2016 and has now surpassed £200 million. This marks a dramatic acceleration as ClearlySo’s clients have raised more capital in the last two years than in the previous eight.

Impact investing, which considers social, environmental and/or ethical impact (the third dimension) alongside risk and financial return, has grown rapidly in recent years. Research increasing demonstrates that investment opportunities exist that are both high impact and financial return—and there is no necessary trade-off [between the two].

The rapid acceleration in capital raising activity by ClearlySo’s clients is evidence of growing mainstream interest in impact investing. Over the past two years, ClearlySo has seen an increase in the size of capital raising mandates, including substantial series A and development capital funding rounds for Upside Energy, HCT Group, Bulb, SuperCarers and Knowledgemotion, with several mainstream institutions investing.

Rodney Schwartz, chief executive of ClearlySo, stated: “It is gratifying, after so many years of toil, to see investors embracing the idea of values-driven investing. They see that their clients (pension funds, HNWIs and Limited Partners) increasingly care about the positive impacts of their financial assets. Institutions which ignore this surging interest do so at their peril.“