The trend among foundations towards mission-related and program-related investments is clear. Some foundations
have explicitly incorporated a target allocation to impact investments in the investment policies they are now working
towards. An important report in 2010 by the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance recommended that Canadian
foundations invest at least 10 per cent of their portfolio in mission-related investments by 2020. However,
accomplishing capital deployment targets to impact investments can be challenging. There are two broad difficulties:
identifying investment opportunities and proper governance.
A 2013 survey by the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing asked foundations that had engaged in mission-related
investing activities to identify the barriers to this type of investing. The top four barriers were: lack of intermediaries,
lack of attractive investment opportunities, lack of internal capacity to dedicate to mission-related investing and lack
of support or knowledge from investment advisors. Put another way, there’s a clear sense that foundations need help
finding and evaluating investment opportunities.
Investment committee members and fiduciaries are often skeptical of mission-related investment, insofar as it can be
perceived to jeopardize the focus or sustainability of a foundation and its grant-making goals. This is an issue that
necessitates both fiduciary education and proper governance oversight. A 2010 paper investigating the legal
consideration for foundations concluded that mission-related investment “can and should be considered within the
overall risks and returns of the portfolio of the foundation.”
It’s also not a forgone conclusion that these types of investments will yield below-market returns. As the Edmonton
Community Foundation discovered, its social enterprise fund yielded 5.5 per cent in 2008 during the credit crisis just
as its investments in traditional asset classes plummeted 14.7 per cent.
Mission-related investments are often undertaken separately from other investments and can cause the perception
that they are diminishing the pool available for “ordinary” investments. It’s important to include these investments in a
portfolio’s wide view to ensure adherence to a foundation’s investment policy and to meet risk-return objectives with a
mind to asset allocation.
Proper monitoring and reporting at the total portfolio level involves collecting the appropriate performance data and
portfolio characteristics from the foundation’s investment managers, custodian and internal staff. Access to index and
peer group data is also important in evaluating the performance of a foundation’s investment portfolio.
Without question, foundations are moving in the right direction in fulfilling a need for capital in social causes where
there’s a void of traditional investors. With some help, foundations can avoid missteps and accelerate their
deployment of capital into impact investments.
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PROTEUS