UN SDG’s, Impact Investing & The World’s Largest Intergenerational Wealth Transfer

Sana Khan
Sana Khan
Jul 29, 2017 · 2 min read
Photo courtesy: www.unleash.org

IMPACT INVESTING — AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE AT UNLEASH

Over the next three decades, the world will see the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in human history. In the United States alone, baby boomers will pass down an estimated $30 trillion USD in assets to the millennial generation — a generation with drastically different investment habits than its predecessors.

What makes the investment habits of millennials different from the rest, is that it seeks to invest in organizations that prioritize the greater good, more than any previous generation. In a recent study carried out by Goldman Sachs, millennials “have a disproportionate desire for their investment decisions to reflect their social, political and environmental values”. Millennials are also “more likely to accept a lower return or a higher risk related to an investment if it’s in a company that has a positive impact on society and the environment.”

An increasing number of millennials now consider impact investing as an appealing alternative to traditional investment options. Impact investing aims to align the achievement of social and environmental objectives in addition to a financial return. This new method of financing allows investors to finance initiatives that aligns with their core values. Due to the global transfer of wealth to a more socially-conscious generation, this sector is expected to expand by $990 billion USD by 2020.

The required investment to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is approximately $4.5 trillion USD per year, and there is a growing concern amongst the international community as to how the SDGs will be financed.

Over the past couple of years, I have been working with different crowdfunding platforms that use innovative methodologies to finance social advocacy causes and development projects. At UNLEASH this year, I will be working with a diverse group of SDG talents to explore alternate uses of impact investing and crowdfunding to finance the UN SDGs.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/iStockPhoto

UNLEASH Lab

Global innovation lab creating disruptive solutions for the UN's SDGs

Sana Khan

Written by

Sana Khan

UNLEASH Lab

Global innovation lab creating disruptive solutions for the UN's SDGs

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