Dimple Sahni | Managing Director Impact Funds Portfolios, Anthos Fund and Asset Management

 As an immigrant from India who moved to the US at the age of 6, I oscillated between two worlds. School years in the US and summer vacations in India reminded me of the stark contrast between the trajectory my life and the lives of my cousins, especially the females. That is when I decided I would become a change agent to level the playing field for those who were not fortunate enough to grow up in a developed country with progressive social norms. My journey to impact investing came rather naturally, even before I had the vocabulary and taxonomy around it. I was both a mathlete and an athlete in college and so going into the masculine field of finance was a logical choice. After working at Goldman Sachs as a banker and a trader, I left in 1999, after the IPO and with my shares in tow to become an Edupreneur (“education entrepreneur”). Even without having the term impact investing, my pitch to venture capitalists was “you can do well by doing good”. After selling my company to Accenture, I set out for business school, but a serendipitous meeting led to me deferring school for a year to move back to India operating in sustainability space, focusing on water. Thus, when I went to Wharton to pursue my MBA, I wanted to combine my love of finance, social entrepreneurship and emerging markets; impact investing was the clear answer. Today, I am proud to be working at a large European family office committed to making a difference.

IS THERE ONE THEME WITHIN THE SDGS THAT YOU SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY OR SYMPATHIZE WITH? 

Although it is hard to pick your favourite SDG, for me Education has always been one of the more powerful goals and one I sympathize with the most. This stems from seeing how Education transformed my own life in the US as an immigrant. From attending free public high school to attending prestigious private universities for college and graduate school, the knowledge and networks helped immensely with my upward mobility socially and professionally. In addition, as a former ed-tech entrepreneur, I’ve seen first-hand how even B2B models can help improve access, buying power and budget efficiency within educational institutions, with the ultimate secondary impact of saving money for fundamental programs and essential education services. Education levels the playing field and provides an opportunity and platform for people to help themselves as well as pay it forward.

WHAT DIFFERENTIATES IMPACT INVESTING FROM TRADITIONAL INVESTING, IN YOUR OWN WORDS?

According to the industry’s trade association the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), Impact Investments are investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. However, we see that there is still a misconception about whether or not you can have market rate returns within an impact strategy. The answer is yes, and to support this answer our family office sponsored research around dispelling this myth and it became a white paper that Wharton Business School published called “Great Expectations”. Among the sample, concessionary financial returns were not required to preserve the social or environmental effect of impact investments. Market-rate-seeking impact investments in the sample were financially competitive on a gross basis with other equity investing investment opportunities. This financial performance may be why impact fund managers often assert that there is little inherent tension between profits and “purpose.” My hope and prediction are that there will be a convergence and that impact investing will just be considered best-in-class investing because having a global mindset, working towards the social benefit of all people and the planet will not only put you on the right side of history but will ultimately be more profitable.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS?

As the only female managing director in the investment department, my role is to deploy money into a multi-asset impact portfolio which includes private markets, public markets and real assets. This total asset allocation model is truly cutting edge and pushes the boundaries on what is possible which I find very motivating. In addition to mentoring more female and indigenous entrepreneurs to scale their businesses, I would like to help mentor the next generation of female impact investors.

About Anthos Funds & Asset Management

Established almost 100 years ago to manage capital for the Brenninkmeijer family, Anthos Fund & Asset Management has provided comprehensive values-based asset management in numerous asset classes to the family, their philanthropies and pension funds of group entities.