Mainstreaming impact investing: What do investors want?

SEVERAL major sustainability themed events will take place in Singapore this week, including the International Finance Corporation's Green Finance Week, Temasek's Ecosperity Conference and Sustainable Solutions Expo 2018. How we can mainstream sustainability investing in order to achieve impact at scale has become a major topic in the investor community globally as well as in Asia.

Historically, private wealth investors in Asia have lagged behind their North American and European counterparts in their involvement in impact investing. This has changed significantly in the past few years. In 2016, wealthy individuals in the Asia-Pacific invested US$55 million into Credit Suisse' main impact investment fund launched in partnership with Singapore's UOB Venture Management. Last year, Singapore's largest local bank DBS offered its first impact investment to private banking clients w…