California Organized Investment Network Launches High Impact Service for Insurers
The California Organized Investment Network has launched the Impact Investment Marketplace, a portal to help facilitate high impact investments in underserved communities and environmental projects in California.
The marketplace links those seeking capital for community development investments with insurers looking to make COIN qualified investments at competitive financial returns in numerous ways, including Investment Bulletins. Investment Bulletins, which are pre-qualified by COIN, help insurers to find asset classes that fit their investment portfolio. The investment is focused on providing social and/or environmental impact in California, with competitive financial returns for insurance company investors.
“The California Organized Investment Network has enjoyed significant success in attracting needed investments into California’s underserved communities, and today’s announcement is another important step in helping to bring higher impact investments to communities in need,” California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement. “Over the past two decades, this unique program has fostered innovative public-private partnerships between communities and the insurance marketplace.”
- Finding California-focused investment opportunities for insurers
- Evaluating and verifying management, risks, benefits and potential returns of investments
- Seeking consistent, competitive financial returns with a social/environmental benefit
- Finding insurers to fund social/environmental impact investments
The portal will manage the process of establishing connections with community developers, submitting and reviewing applications and due diligence materials, documentation requests, impact measurement and management, final approval or denial, and dissemination of investment bulletin opportunities to insurers. Previously, these processes took place outside a technology system.
Total assets under management by professional money management institutions in the U.S. invested in socially responsible investment strategies has risen 33 percent since 2014, to over $8 trillion at year-end 2016, according to COIN.
Insurance companies operating in California with more than $100 million of direct premiums written held nearly $22 billion of COIN qualified investments at year-end 2015, benefitting underserved communities and environmental projects in California.
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