Sweden’s biggest financial groups have joined forces to help foster conditions for impact investing in the Nordic country.

The country’s largest pension fund, Alecta, is one of 25 organisations forming The Swedish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing, a non-profit organisation.

The fledgling organisation will submit an official application next month to join The Global Steering Group for Impact Investing (GSG), as one of 22 national advisory boards worldwide.

Other members of the board include SEB, Handelsbanken, Nordea, Swedbank, Danske Bank, Skandia, Blue Orchard Impact Investment Managers. and Prosper Impact Consulting.

Johan Rippe, vice president of PwC in Sweden and chairman of the association’s board of directors, said: “Impact investing spans a number of sectors that are not always used to working together.

“Asset managers, entrepreneurs, the public sector, non-profit organisations and intermediaries are all important cornerstones for capital directed at socially-improving companies and efforts to generate both financial returns and measurable positive impact.”

The issues that new panel is to work on fall into four main categories, the organisation said:

1. Demand for impact innovation from customers and buyers;

2. Access to investable impact companies and community support efforts;

3. Access to capital, including financial instruments for impact investments; and

4. Models and methods for measuring, evaluating and monitoring impact.

Maria Björholt, CFO at Norrsken Foundation and a member of the association’s board, said that by being part of the GSG Sweden would be able to influence the international agenda for impact investing.

It would also be able to gain knowledge and input from the global organisation and from other countries that could help create the right conditions for a growing impact economy at home, she said.

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