Phenix Impact Fund Assessment pushes for the standardisation of impact management frameworks and promotes global initiatives within impact investing. On 33 dimensions and six different themes, the assessment examines to what extent the setup is in place to deliver the impact that a fund aims to create and how the fund compares to best practice examples in the impact industry.
6 months since the launch of Phenix Impact Fund Assessment, we look back over the funds that have been assessed to date and review some emerging patterns as we work towards creating peer-group benchmarks.
Across all asset classes, the top-scoring funds (above 50/66) all exceed the criteria that evaluate the impact objective, impact strategy, impact reporting, and ecosystem contribution. Showing that success in implementing the key concepts of impact investing are the building blocks for a robust and credible complete impact strategy.
Through high scores on impact reporting and ecosystem contribution, we see that these funds are also sharing their performance and tools with the industry, supporting the collaborative impact investing networks.
The 6 themes considered to assess a fund.
Intentionality is considered a prerequisite for impact funds, but evaluating the intentionality stretches beyond the fund’s impact objective. Of the 6 themes assessed within the Phenix Impact Fund Assessment, scores on intentionality vary the greatest. We are seeing funds succeed at setting their intention statements but less so on the criteria that corroborate these through the fund structure or within the manager’s organisation.
Of the six themes assessed, we are yet to see a true ‘all rounder’ amongst the funds with high performance on every theme. Most frequently, the funds perform strongly in two themes and have more significant areas for development in others. These areas for development vary fund to fund, often uncovering blind spots where a third-party review can shine a light and provide guidance on improvements.