ImpactAlpha: Four suns: ‘Impact rating’ issued for a publicly traded mutual fund

Ratings aim to hold large fund managers accountable for delivering on wide range of impacts

By Oscar Perry Abello

Impact investing’s march into the mainstream continues. This week, Community Capital Management’s CRA-Qualified Investment Fund became the first publicly-traded mutual fund to receive a third-party rating for impact management.

Just as third-party ratings have become essential for judging financial risk of an investment, third-party verification of impact is essential if impact is to become a core component of investment decision-making. As large investment houses start to bring capital to bear on the world’s social and environmental challenges, analysts will be on guard for “impact-washing” — dilution of meaningful impact in the service of marketing.

Read the full story on ImpactAlpha.