top investment themes: do impact investors know something that others do not?

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Cambridge Associates LLC is a Massachusetts limited liability company with offices in Arlington, VA; Boston, MA; Dallas, TX; and Menlo Park, CA. Copyright © 2009 by Cambridge Associates LLC. All rights reserved. Perspectives on Impact Investing Take Action! Conference October 6, 2009

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Kyle Johnson,Senior Investment Consultant, Cambridge Associates.Kyle Johnson's presentation from the 2009 Take Action! Impact Investing Conference in San Francisco.

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Page 1: Top Investment Themes: Do Impact Investors Know Something That Others Do Not?

Cambridge Associates LLC is a Massachusetts limited liability company with offices in Arlington, VA; Boston, MA; Dallas, TX; and Menlo Park, CA.

Copyright © 2009 by Cambridge Associates LLC. All rights reserved.

Perspectives on Impact Investing

Take Action! Conference

October 6, 2009

Page 2: Top Investment Themes: Do Impact Investors Know Something That Others Do Not?

Career Background

Passion to understand how the world

works – so I can better “minister” to it!

Page 3: Top Investment Themes: Do Impact Investors Know Something That Others Do Not?

Key Influences

Adam Smith

Page 4: Top Investment Themes: Do Impact Investors Know Something That Others Do Not?

Foundational Premises

– Markets generally do generate positive social outcomes –

regardless of participants’ intentions.

– However, markets are neither perfect nor complete nor

sufficient.

– Central Question:

Which institutions – markets, governments, families, etc. –

are best suited to achieve social goals?

Page 5: Top Investment Themes: Do Impact Investors Know Something That Others Do Not?

Reflections on Impact Investing

• What Impact Investors get right:

– Mutually beneficial, non-coercive transactions are critical to smoothlyfunctioning markets.

If such reciprocity is not present, the market “status quo” is at risk.

– Critical human needs may lend themselves to market solutions.

Market solutions are advantageous because they are more self-sustaining.

• What Impact Investors may miss:

– Market failures do exist – and may take a painfully long time to correct.

Investments may not be the best tool to address them.

– “Conventional” investors are (often) not oblivious to ESG factors.

Their insights are relevant and should not be overlooked.

Page 6: Top Investment Themes: Do Impact Investors Know Something That Others Do Not?

Biography

Kyle Johnson

Kyle is a Managing Director at Cambridge Associates. He works with a broad range of clients on general investment

issues such as asset allocation strategy, manager selection, and investment program evaluation. In addition, Kyle also

serves on the firm’s Mission-Related Investing team, which helps clients make informed decisions about mission-related

and other forms of social investing. Kyle has authored two research papers at the firm, including Update on Auditing

Issues Related to the Valuation of Private Partnerships in 2006, and Social Investing 2007.

Before Kyle joined Cambridge Associates in 2005, he was the director of institutional client relationships for Domini

Social Investments LLC, a firm specializing in socially conscious investing. At Domini, he was responsible for serving

institutional clients and their consultants, developing and implementing institutional sales strategies, and forming strategic

partnerships with fund distribution intermediaries. Previously, Kyle worked at KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., where he

began his career as a research analyst and later served as committee chair for KLD’s suite of socially and

environmentally screened indexes.

Kyle graduated from Harvard College and received a Masters of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School.

He has completed Level I of the CFA Program.