Press release
DWM Achieves Industry-Leading Ratings of Alignment with Impact Principles
Hannah Schiff
Managing Director, Impact
New York, NY and Stamford, CT
Mar 26, 2024
DWM concluded its most recent independent verification of alignment with the Operating Principles for Impact Management (the “Impact Principles”), an industry standard for integration of social and environmental impact in the investment process. The independent verification was conducted by BlueMark, the leader in impact practice verification with 167 verifications conducted to date. Based on BlueMark’s assessment, DWM achieved the highest possible rating of “advanced” alignment for six of the eight Principles, and second-highest of “high” for the remaining two.
DWM adopted the Impact Principles in 2019, the year they were launched, and underwent its first independent verification in 2021. “The Impact Principles provide important guidelines and a framework for transparency about impact management practices. At DWM, we view the verification process as a chance to learn from the market about what we’re doing well and what we could be doing even better,” commented Hannah Schiff, DWM’s Managing Director of Impact.
BlueMark reviewed the practices outlined in DWM’s 2023 disclosure statement through extensive documentation and staff interviews and found several key strengths, including clearly articulated impact objectives, rigorous impact and ESG due diligence, and a commitment to learning from impact measurement. Recommended areas for further alignment included linking staff incentives to impact and deeper analytics of DWM’s investor-level contribution to impact for each transaction.
BlueMark’s President Sarah Gelfand said, “BlueMark was pleased to engage with the Developing World Markets team to verify the firm’s alignment to the Operating Principles for Impact Management. The DWM team’s ethos of openness and dedication to learning and improvement are crucial for raising the bar on best practice in the market.”
About DWM
Founded in 1994, Developing World Markets (DWM) seeks investible solutions that sustainably address the social, environmental, and economic needs of the developing world. DWM began impact investing in 1999 and shifted exclusively to impact investments in 2004. DWM has over two decades of experience in emerging and frontier markets. Through DWM Asset Management, LLC, the firm’s SEC-registered investment adviser, DWM has originated and managed $2.9 billion of private debt and private equity in impact-oriented enterprises, including over 1,200 loan disbursements and 25 private equity stakes in more than 60 emerging and frontier countries.
About BlueMark
BlueMark, a Delaware-registered public benefit company, is a leading provider of impact verification services in the impact investing market. BlueMark was founded with a mission to “strengthen trust in impact investing” and to help bring more accountability to the impact investment process. BlueMark has conducted this verification with an independent and unconflicted team experienced in relevant impact measurement and management issues. BlueMark has implemented a Standard of Conduct requiring our employees to adhere to the highest standards of professional integrity, ethics, and objectivity in their conduct of business activities.
The Impact Principles are a framework for investors for the design and implementation of their impact management systems, ensuring that impact considerations are integrated throughout the investment lifecycle. They may be implemented through different types of systems, each of which can be designed to fit the needs of an individual organization. They do not prescribe specific tools and approaches, or specific impact measurement frameworks. The expectation is that industry participants will continue to learn from each other as they implement the Impact Principles. There are currently 184 signatories to the Impact Principles from 40 countries representing more than $528 billion in covered assets.