Pioneering impact investing firm grows to meet the interwoven challenges of COVID-19, structural inequalities, and climate change
BETHESDA, MD, Oct. 1, 2020: Calvert Impact Capital, the mission-driven financial institution dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable world, announced today that their Community Investment Note® balance has exceeded $500 million for the first time as their work to support global, under-resourced communities expands during this year of unprecedented social, environmental, and economic challenges.
This represents a significant milestone for the 25-year old firm, recently named “Asset Manager of the Year: Mid-Sized” by Environmental Finance’s 2020 IMPACT Awards, and serves as yet another indicator of the increasing popularity of investing for positive social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. Heightened interest from investors has been matched by robust deployment from Calvert Impact Capital, who has approved more than $135 million in new financing to date in 2020. Calvert Impact Capital lends to and invests in organizations working across all 50 states and in over 100 countries around the world who are creating affordable housing, financing small businesses, delivering renewable energy, and more.
“Our investors are passionate, and our portfolio partners are eager to access new credit,” says Justin Conway, Vice President of Investment Partnerships. “We are well-positioned to support both, even amidst the current economic uncertainty.” Calvert Impact Capital has cumulatively raised more than $2 billion from nearly 20,000 investors through their signature product, the Community Investment Note® (the “Note”), a retail fixed-income product. The Note is widely distributed across brokerage platforms and as John DesPrez III, CEO of Incapital, a leading fixed-income distributor remarked, “Strong Note sales serve as a clear indicator of impact investing’s move towards the mainstream. We are thrilled to see this growth, but not at all surprised based on the strength of the Calvert Impact Capital team.”
The COVID-19 crisis and movements to address inequality and promote racial equity have accelerated the interest in investing for impact through both public and private market options. Calvert Impact Capital’s recent investor survey found that 44% of all investors – and 72% of millennial investors – are more likely to invest for impact since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Investors’ top two areas of interest are Environmental Sustainability and Racial Equity.
With growing investor interest and strong portfolio partners, Calvert Impact Capital has deployed capital throughout 2020 in prudent, high impact ways. “At a time when other lenders were pulling back, Calvert Impact Capital’s support enabled us to stay in the market and strive to meet the need for quality affordable housing, which is more acute than ever,” said Randy Parker, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. (POAH). Looking ahead, Calvert Impact Capital has a robust pipeline to deploy in the fourth quarter to support critical sectors including affordable housing, small business finance, renewable energy, and microfinance.
In addition to growing their own portfolio, since March, Calvert Impact Capital has leveraged its syndication services to help community lenders provide affordable, flexible capital to the smallest small businesses suffering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis. They serve as the lead arranger for the $100 million New York Forward Loan Fund and are currently working with partners to launch similar funds across the country. “An incredible group of public, private, and social sector organizations have come together to create scalable models to meet the enormous demand for access to credit. We are working closely with remarkable Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) who lend to small businesses that are traditionally excluded from our financial system, including businesses in low-income communities, women-owned businesses and businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color,” noted Beth Bafford, Vice President of Strategy & Syndications, who is leading efforts to build the COVID-19 relief funds.
“Calvert Impact Capital’s work is anchored in the knowledge that we must think bigger, move faster, and work together if we hope to change our financial system to value people and planet over short-term profits,” said Jennifer Pryce, Calvert Impact Capital CEO. “We will continue to work with the urgency our shared challenges demand to get capital to communities that need it most.”
About
Calvert Impact Capital invests to create a more equitable and sustainable world. Through our products and services, we raise capital from individual and institutional investors to finance intermediaries and funds that are investing in communities left out of traditional capital markets. During our 25-year history, we have mobilized over $2 billion of investor capital. Calvert Impact Capital also offers loan syndications, where we originate, structure and administer loans for institutional and accredited lenders seeking environmental and social impact. To date, we have syndicated and/or administered more than $200 million of capital for impact-oriented transactions. More at www.calvertimpactcapital.org.