Financial and Institutional Aspects of the Development of Impact Investing in Russia

Impact investing is increasingly regarded worldwide as a contemporary instrument for delivering key national socio-economic and environmental priorities. In Russia, impact investments are also being made despite the absence of a clearly defined legal and regulatory status for this type of activity. The purpose of this study is to develop proposals for establishing the financial and institutional conditions required for the development of the impact investing market in Russia, based on an assessment of retail investors’ readiness to engage in impact investing and an analysis of ongoing impact projects as potential investment targets. Continuing the discussion in the academic literature on terminological clarity and the scope of concepts describing various forms of socially responsible investment, the article proposes criteria that capture the essence of impact investing. Drawing on an original questionnaire survey of retail investors conducted via the Google Forms platform, the authors identify and statistically confirm their readiness to participate in impact investing and describe respondents’ behavioural patterns with respect to impact investing and the use of financial instruments. A comparative analysis of Russian and international practices in the implementation and financing of impact projects (252 and 201 projects, respectively) demonstrates the readiness of economic agents to pursue such projects in the Russian economy and makes it possible to identify priority directions for scaling them up. The study develops proposals for the development of the impact investing market, grouped into two areas: institutional and financial. The institutional block includes formal recognition of the status of impact investing; the creation of a registry of impact projects using platform‑based solutions; the establishment of state infrastructure to support impact projects; and the formation of an information and communication environment to promote impact investing. The financial block comprises the creation of specialised financial institutions and the introduction of public financial support measures for organisations implementing impact projects, institutional investors raising capital to finance impact projects, and private, including retail, impact investors.