Nine Birthday Wishes As Big Society Capital Turns 10

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There's a new player in the world of impact investing, and it's a London-based firm called Big Society Capital. The idea is to invest in projects that have a positive impact on the world and get a return on that investment of between 4% and 6%, Bloomberg reports.

Big Society Capital's biggest success so far, according to its former CEO, is " confidence in the market that allows things to happen. Other investors feel more confident," Cliff Prior tells Bloomberg. "On the enterprise side, they feel more confident; talent comes to it, because of the confidence, and that's built over time."

Big Society Capital was founded in 2010 and has invested more than $100 million in 30 projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Bloomberg reports. According to a press release, the investment has had a positive impact on the lives of more than 85,000 people.

The company's biggest problem has been its return expectation, Prior tells Bloomberg. "The crazy idea was that 4 to 6% return expectation," he says.

"Who on earth thought that a fixed return expectation would be a sensible thing? Because for a long time, returns were generally very, very low. Now with inflation they're very, very high."


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