How is impact investment changing and what does it mean for education?

This @PodcastEdTech episode is all about @UfiTrust VocTech Trust’s work to go beyond grant investing and venture investing to align its total investment portfolio more closely with its mission to champion the power of technology to improve skills for work. 

You know all those campaigns to divest out of fossil fuel investments and the huge positive impact this has for new ecosystems around climate change? Well, imagine if educational charities took the same approach by pro-actively investing their funds in more mission-aligned ways with the requisite step-change in funding and signalling this would unlock for educational opportunity and social good. Sounds good eh?

But beyond Ufi Voctech Trust, what does this mean for other philanthropic organisations, entrepreneurs and even learners in the sector, and how did Ufi Voctech Trust take the leap from initial idea to announcement?

In this episode, we chart an exciting story that starts back in the mid-2000s and culminates this week with UK-facing vocational learning and technology charity Ufi VocTech Trust announcing the investment of its £50m plus assets using the UN Sustainable Development Goals to support the best thematic alignment of investment with Ufi’s mission, whilst meeting the charity’s financial commitments. Credit Suisse has been appointed as investment service provider, after a tendering process that engaged 100 potential providers.  

We explore what this shift in philanthropic approach means and how a holistic investment framework across all assets – grants, venture investment and investment capital – can support vocational educational technology and positive impact.

People

• Joe Ludlow, Impact Investment Director, Ufi Voctech Trust | Twitter: @joeludlow
• James Gifford, Head of Impact Advisory, Credit Suisse | Twitter: @jamesgif
• Helen McDonald, UK Head of Foundations and Impact Advisory Services, Credit Suisse
• Kirill Pyshkin, Senior portfolio manager in the Thematic Equities team of CS Asset Management, Credit Suisse | Twitter: @PyshkinK
• Paul Blyth, ESG Investment Consultant to Ufi VocTech Trust
• Sophie Bailey is the Founder and Presenter of The Edtech Podcast | Twitter: @podcastedtech

References from this week’s episode

• Ufi Voctech Trust – Website, homepage
• Ufi Voctech – Twitter
• Ufi Voctech Trust – LinkedIn
• Catch up on previous episodes of the VocTech Podcast series here – The Edtech Podcast website link
• Joe Ludlow – LinkedIn
• Joe Ludlow – Twitter
• James Gifford – LinkedIn
• James Gifford – Twitter
• Helen McDonald – LinkedIn
• Kirill Pyshkin – LinkedIn
• Credit Suisse – Twitter
• Paul Blyth – LinkedIn
• UN Sustainable Development Goals – link to goals on UN website
• Credit Suisse – Sustainable Investing – Link to page on CS website
• Impact Management Project – Website 
• TheImPact.org (Family Office) – Website
• The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) – Website
• The Responsible Endowments Coalition, US – Website
• Intentional Endowments Network – Website
• Impact Investment Institute, UK – Website 
• Chip Paucek, CEO of 2U – Twitter links
• The Edtech Podcast episode #200 – A Conversation with Chip Paucek, CEO of 2U – link to episode
• Dan Rosensweig, CEO, of Chegg – Twitter
• Chegg – Twitter
• Grand Canyon University – Twitter
• Toniic – Website
• Toniic – Twitter
• The Social Investment Group (SIG) – Website
• Church Investment Group – Website
• Snowball Investment Management – Website
• Snowball Investment Management – Twitter
• Charities Responsible Investment Network (CRIN) – Website

The episode is part of The VocTech Podcast series and is supported by Ufi VocTech Trust. Happy listening!