Sustainable and impact investors today are operating in one of the most complex and challenging landscapes to date – defined by political pushback, regulatory fragmentation and the pressing need to prove both impact and financial performance. At BlueMark, our role remains unchanged. We exist to ensure accountability, clarity and trust; providing the conditions needed to ensure more capital is allocated towards addressing global social and environmental challenges.
With this mission in mind, it has been inspiring to see how our clients continue working towards their own impact objectives, despite growing and new pressures in the market. To better understand how leading investors are navigating this moment, we spoke with four of our clients and thought leaders in the impact investing market; Andy Kuper from LeapFrog Investments, Maria Teresa Zappia from BlueOrchard, Rekha Unnithan from Nuveen and Eszter Vitorino from Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management about the choices they’re making and the lessons they’ve learned. From these conversations, “staying the course” emerged as a unifying theme.
Conviction and resilience
When asked if they had shifted course in response to today’s pressures, each of our clients stressed the importance of long-term conviction. By holding firm to their impact-driven investment theses, they are able to look beyond short-term turbulence; protecting the integrity of their impact objectives while strengthening credibility with investors. This conviction stems from the prevailing belief that impact and financial returns move together. This lockstep relationship gives them the confidence to maintain, and in some cases expand, their impact focus even as others retreat.
LeapFrog pointed to the resilience of their focus on high-growth emerging markets, as well as recent exits in India and Kenya as proof that inclusive businesses can deliver both scale and resilience:
“Our focus on high-growth markets and on emerging consumers has set us apart, where spending patterns are less correlated with developed markets and wealthier consumers. In the past six months, we’ve successfully completed two exits; reinforcing confidence in our approach and validating the role of impact investing in building resilient businesses that can thrive across cycles.”
For BlueOrchard, conviction has meant doubling down on key themes, driven by new evidence supporting the link between impact and financial outcomes:
“We are actively expanding our funds focused on climate adaptation and gender and diversity.” BlueOrchard noted that investor confidence has been supported by, “joint research with Schroders and Oxford Saïd Business School, which provides evidence that strong impact management can go hand-in-hand with competitive, risk-adjusted returns.”
Nuveen underscored the value of standing firmly behind their strategy, with investor expectations remaining consistent – that impact and returns should be firmly aligned:
“We haven’t made any fundamental changes to our investment strategy because we believe it is resilient and relevant. We are articulating it with even more precision to show how our companies make money and have impact in today’s environment. Our investors made it clear that the expectation has always been that financial return and impact outcomes move together.”
And Van Lanschot Kempen highlighted the need to refine priorities without losing sight of core principles:
“Rather than reacting to regulatory or political developments, we’ve focused on refining our thematic priorities and enhancing our measurement frameworks. We made the deliberate decision to further increase our research efforts into nature positive investment solutions. This was a proactive move to both capitalize on increasing opportunities in the market and reflect the evolving preferences of both institutional and private clients.”
Credibility through rigour
With current macroeconomic conditions leading to heightened scrutiny on impact and sustainable investors, our clients emphasised that credibility is not earned by avoiding tough questions, but by answering them with rigour. Disciplined processes and transparent reporting can serve as a critical differentiator in a crowded market.
LeapFrog pointed to the importance of maintaining a hands-on approach to risk management during turbulent periods:
“Rather than reacting to short-term shifts, we engage with portfolio companies to surface and manage risks early, while supporting strong internal governance. This hands-on approach enables our companies to remain adaptable and resilient in the face of change.”
BlueOrchard highlighted the importance of robust impact data, not just for communication, but as a tool for effective decision-making, especially during volatile periods:
“Impact data shouldn’t only be seen as a reporting requirement – it can be a strategic asset. We’ve used it to refine value creation plans, inform investment decisions, and engage more deeply with portfolio companies.”
Nuveen pointed to structural mechanisms that hardwire impact into their investment approach; holding them accountable to impact goals regardless of shifting political dynamics and external factors:
“We’ve implemented an impact-linked carry system to demonstrate the lockstep nature of impact and financial return, where targets and performance are verified by a third-party.”
And Van Lanschot Kempen emphasized the need to invest in stronger systems and governance as demonstrating impact performance becomes increasingly important :
“We’ve doubled down on transparency, data integrity, and intentionality – strengthening governance around impact classification, enhancing reporting capabilities, and investing in systems that support robust data collection and storytelling.”
Advice for the field
We closed each conversation by asking our clients what advice they would offer to other investors striving to maintain their impact focus in today’s environment. Their responses underscored an opportunity for investors to demonstrate their authenticity. BlueOrchard stressed that “sustaining a genuine and transparent impact focus is important to maintain your identity and ability to attract like-minded investors” and LeapFrog highlighted the bigger picture, stating that “impact and returns are like two eyes, that allow for depth perception, in your vision and execution.”
While some investors may be wary of the uncertainty and complexity of this moment, Nuveen and Van Lanschot Kempen see it as a call to action. Nuveen reiterated that this is a great time to invest in impact, observing that, “those who have not been truly committed and who have retreated during this time have created a gap in the market for those who want to enter it.” Van Lanschot Kempen advised fund managers to, “focus on what you can influence; build coalitions and stay anchored to your impact thesis. That means investing in internal capabilities, being transparent with stakeholders, and continuously refining your approach based on evidence and feedback.”
Their advice points to a clear conclusion: investors are managing to stay the course not by ignoring today’s turbulence, but by meeting it with conviction, rigour, and authenticity. Far from weakening the field, these conditions are strengthening it, separating those truly committed to impact from those chasing a trend. The choices made now will not only determine who withstands the current moment, but also shape the credibility and future trajectory of impact investing for the decade ahead.
Jack Isaacs is a Manager at BlueMark.