Swedfund adopts IFC’s Operating Principles for Impact Management

Swedfund is one of sixty investors who signed on to a new set of principles intended to bring greater transparency, credibility, and discipline to the impact investing market during the World Bank Spring Meetings.

The nine Principles have been developed by International Finance Corporation, IFC, and a group of asset owners, managers and allocators to describe essential features of managing investments into companies or organizations with the intent to contribute to measurable positive social or environmental impact alongside financial returns. The principles are underpinned by five stages – strategy, origination and structuring, portfolio management, exit, and independent verification.

“Swedfund's mission is to fight poverty by investing in sustainable businesses. All our investments should make a positive impact and help achieve Agenda 2030. That is why Swedfund has adopted the Operating Principles for Impact Management”, said Swedfund CEO Maria Håkansson.

The principles will help us to harmonise our impact approach with other DFIs and to manage and measure the impact of our investment operations in a systematic way, as well as provide us with a common “impact language” with other investors. The signatories will disclose annually how they implement the Principles across their portfolios and have their impact management systems independently verified on a regular basis.

Please read the full document, Investing for impact: Operating Principles for Impact Management