At a recent Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) conference, a panelist posed a question that stopped me cold:
"Are you profiting from others' suffering?"
It wasn’t accusatory. It wasn’t even rhetorical. It was an invitation—to look inward, to hold the mirror up, and to reconsider how capital is deployed and what values it serves.
For those of us steeped in finance and investment strategy, this kind of clarity isn’t often how we talk about markets. We speak in basis points, benchmarks, and blended returns. But this question cut through all of that—and pointed to something we often avoid: the social cost hidden inside financial performance.
In this post, I want to explore other ways we can use similarly resonant framing to motivate professionals—especially seasoned investors—to engage in impact investing not just as a product category, but as a deeper practice of responsibility and renewal.
1. The Relevance Filter: "Are You Aligned with the Future of Capital?"
Impact investing is often framed as niche, values-based, or “nice to have.” But increasingly, it’s becoming synonymous with smart capital—driven by emerging regulation, consumer demand, and generational shifts in wealth.
Reframe:
- Ask: Are we building a strategy that will still be relevant—and respected—five years from now?
- Are we keeping pace with the future of investment, or clinging to outdated assumptions?
It’s not just about staying ahead of the curve. It’s about recognizing where the curve is heading—and having the courage to lead rather than follow.
2. The Systemic Risk Lens: "Are You Investing in the Stability You Depend On?"
Many professional investors understand that climate risk is financial risk. But the same is true for social instability, inequality, and eroding trust in institutions.
Investing in extractive models that increase precarity for workers, communities, or ecosystems may produce short-term gains—but they simultaneously weaken the very systems that markets rely on.
Reframe:
- Ask: Are we undermining the long-term viability of our own portfolio by neglecting impact?
- What would it look like to invest in resilience—across sectors, societies, and systems?
This framing resonates with fiduciaries and institutional allocators who are focused on long-horizon value preservation. Risk isn’t just about volatility on a spreadsheet. It’s about the conditions that make sustainable returns possible in the first place.
3. The Agency Test: "If You Knew, Would You Still Invest?"
Many professionals separate investment decisions from outcomes by default: “It’s not my job to fix the world—it’s my job to deliver returns.” But that division is less tenable today, as data on supply chains, labor conditions, and climate impacts become more transparent.
Reframe:
- Imagine knowing everything about a company’s practices—how it treats people, what externalities it produces.
- Ask: If we had full visibility into impact, would we still invest?
This can shift mindset from avoidance to proactive curiosity: what don't we know that we should? It's a call to diligence not just on performance, but on purpose.
4. The Legacy Question: "What Will Your Capital Say About You?"
Professionals often think about legacy in terms of career highlights or deal outcomes. But money speaks. And the question of where our capital has gone—what it has built, enabled, or harmed—becomes a ledger of its own.
Reframe:
- Instead of asking “what did we earn,” ask: What did our capital do in the world?
- What stories will your fund’s track record tell 20 years from now—to your LPs, your team, your kids?
This line of inquiry is especially powerful for family offices, wealth stewards, and endowments thinking across generations. It’s not what comes after success—it’s what defines it.
Conclusion: From Optics to Ownership
Questions like “Are you profiting from others' suffering?” cut to the core—not to provoke guilt, but to provoke choice. They offer a different lens on capital—one that centers responsibility, interdependence, and the undeniable power of investment to shape the world.
Impact investing is not just a strategy. It’s a stance. And reframing how we talk about it—toward agency, legacy, risk, and relevance—can draw more professionals into the fold.
Because ultimately, the most powerful returns aren’t only financial. They’re the ones we can be proud of.
