Prudential reaffirms commitment to impact investment

Prudential Financial, Inc. is to build a $1bn impact investment portfolio by 2020 in its continuing effort to direct investments to companies, projects and funds that create positive social change and help individuals and communities achieve economic success.

Prudential made the announcement at the White House during a meeting of the US Advisory Board of the G7’s Social Impact Investing Taskforce, which presented its recommendations on how policymakers can spur more impact investments.

“Impact investing enables us, as a company, to make a deeper and more sustainable commitment in a way that has enduring impact,” said Lata Reddy, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Prudential. “These investments are part of our broader strategy to eliminate the barriers that prevent individuals and communities from achieving financial and social mobility.”

Impact investing is the deployment of capital with the intention to generate a positive, measurable social or environmental impact in addition to a financial return.

“With this commitment, we are building on Prudential’s long history of using our resources to generate more than just a financial return,” said Ommeed Sathe, vice president of Impact Investments at Prudential. “For decades, we have strived to find innovative approaches that reach communities and individuals whose needs are underserved by traditional capital markets.”

Prudential formalized its impact investing program in 1976. Since then, the group has invested nearly $2 billion, including $300 million deployed in the company’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey.

The group invests in three core areas: social purpose enterprises, financial intermediaries that redeploy capital to individuals and organizations, and real assets, like affordable housing, that improve lives and communities.

"Prudential has been a leader in the impact investment arena for decades,” said Jean Case, ceo of the Case Foundation. "We have witnessed how instrumental impact investing can be, and it is encouraging that such a large private sector corporation understands the importance of using its capital to address complex social challenges." The Case Foundation is recognized for its efforts to increase giving and catalyze civic and business participation, as well as promote innovation, collaboration and leadership in the nonprofit sector.

Picture credit: © Dana Rothstein | Dreamstime Stock Photos