Pledges to expand its investments in organizations, projects and funds that address barriers to financial and social mobility announced at White House meeting of the U.S. Advisory Board of the G7’s Social Impact Investing Taskforce
NEWARK, NJ — Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) announced today its commitment to build a $1 billion 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 U.S. 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. “Today they reaffirmed that leadership by committing to build a $1 billion impact investment portfolio. 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.”
Separately today, the U.S. National Advisory Board (NAB) on Impact Investing released its report of policy recommendations to mainstream impact investing within the United States. The initiative, focused on promoting public and private innovation and entrepreneurship in solving the United States’ greatest social challenges, addresses the most catalytic changes needed from a policy standpoint. NAB’s report, Private Capital, Public Good: How Smart Federal Policy Can Galvanize Impact Investing — and Why It’s Urgent, is available at: www.nabimpactinvesting.org/s/Private_Capital_Public_Good.pdf
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1.1 trillion of assets under management as of March 31, 2014, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential Financial Inc.’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential Financial, Inc.’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.
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