A doctor is speaking with a mother and her daughter.

What is impact investing?

How would you like to invest in a way that leads to measurable improvement for society and the environment, while earning a financial return? That’s called impact investing, and it’s one of the most effective tools for driving positive change through your portfolio.

An impact investment must meet three criteria:

  • Intention – Investments must seek to generate positive social and/or environmental impact
  • Measurement – Investments must be able to measure their intended impact
  • Financial return – Investments must seek to generate a positive return

From affordable housing to sustainable agriculture to gender equality to pollution control, impact investments are working to solve the world’s biggest challenges.

A doctor is speaking with a mother and her daughter.
Giant icebergs floating in the ocean.

What is thematic investing?

Thematic investing is a way to take advantage of long-term structural changes happening around the world, often across many industries at once. Past examples that have offered significant investment opportunities include the mass production of cars, air travel, and the rise of the Internet.

Today’s structural changes, sometimes called megatrends, include such things as the use of artificial intelligence, climate change, and the urbanization of the developing world.

Giant icebergs floating in the ocean.

Choose your fund

NEI was the first investment manager in Canada to offer a suite of impact funds with a focused solution in all three major categories: fixed income funds, equity funds, and balanced funds. Our newest addition to our impact lineup is NEI Clean Infrastructure Fund. In the tables below, click anywhere in the highlighted row to visit the fund details page. You will find descriptions of the responsible investment strategies below the tables.

NEI Canadian Impact Bond Fund

Addenda Capital

NEI Global Impact Bond Fund**

Wellington Management

Fixed income

Fund Name Responsible investment strategy Portfolio manager or sub advisor
NEI Canadian Impact Bond Fund
Addenda Capital
Go to link
NEI Global Impact Bond Fund**
Wellington Management
Go to link

NEI Global Sustainable Balanced Fund

Impax Asset Management

Balanced

Fund Name Responsible investment strategy Portfolio manager or sub advisor
NEI Global Sustainable Balanced Fund
Impax Asset Management
Go to link

NEI Clean Infrastructure Fund

Ecofin Advisors

NEI Environmental Leaders Fund

Impax Asset Management

Global and international equity

Fund Name Responsible investment strategy Portfolio manager or sub advisor
NEI Clean Infrastructure Fund
Ecofin Advisors
Go to link
NEI Environmental Leaders Fund
Impax Asset Management
Go to link

NEI Impact Conservative Portfolio

NEI Investments

NEI Impact Balanced Portfolio

NEI Investments

NEI Impact Growth Portfolio

NEI Investments

Multi Asset Solutions

Fund Name Responsible investment strategy Portfolio manager or sub advisor
NEI Impact Conservative Portfolio
NEI Investments
Go to link
NEI Impact Balanced Portfolio
NEI Investments
Go to link
NEI Impact Growth Portfolio
NEI Investments
Go to link

Learn about our responsible investment strategies

Our funds employ up to four responsible investment strategies: exclusionary screens, ESG integration, impact & thematic, and active ownership. 

You will see on the right we have included an icon for fossil fuel exclusions. While we do not consider that to be a distinct responsible investment strategy, we do believe it’s useful for investors to be able to identify those funds at a glance.

Impact & thematic

Impact funds strive to make a measurable difference on society and the environment based on specific goals. Thematic funds focus on an investment “theme,” such as climate change, resource scarcity, or energy infrastructure.

Exclusionary screens

Companies may be excluded from the funds based on certain criteria, such as revenue generated from the tobacco and gambling industries, or because they produce fossil fuels.

Fossil fuel exclusions

While not a distinct responsible investment strategy, certain funds do exclude oil, gas, and coal exploration and production companies, as well as companies with significant carbon reserves on their balance sheets.

ESG integration

Companies are evaluated on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and ESG considerations are integrated throughout the investment process.

Active ownership

We use our rights as shareholders to influence corporate behaviour. Tools include corporate dialogue, proxy voting, and shareholder proposals.

Dig Deeper

Impact investing is a fast-growing, fast-moving place to be. Build your knowledge and stay on top of the latest developments with insight from NEI.

Diverse group of people in a line holding hands.

Focus on: human rights

Learn how we are engaging with companies like Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and more on the topic of worker’s rights and digital rights.

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Alternate text

Focus on: inequality

Learn why human capital, DE&I, equitable compensation and equitable access are key issues we discuss with companies.

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An advisor discusses financial matters with clients in a boardroom.

Collaboration opportunity between advisors and clients

CIO John Bai and Director of Corporate Engagement Jamie Bonham discuss the crucial role advisors can play in helping investors participate in the journey to net zero.

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Aerial view of a river winding through Canada’s boreal forest.

Focus on: biodiversity

Read why biodiversity has become a major theme of our engagement in 2022.

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Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.