More than one-quarter of IA 50 2025 applicants were first-time applicants, underscoring the rapid expansion of the impact investing industry globally.
ImpactAssets, the impact investing leader with a 15-year track record of mobilizing capital for good, recently released the ImpactAssets 50™ (IA 50) 2025, the definitive guide to impact investment fund managers globally. This year’s IA 50 features 165 experienced and emerging impact investment fund managers, the highest number to date. See the full list here.
Now in its 14th year, the IA 50 remains the most comprehensive resource for identifying best-in-class impact fund managers, offering investors a rigorously curated and publicly accessible database to explore the industry’s leaders across the full range of investment types.
This year’s IA 50 highlights unabated momentum in impact investing: Application volume has grown 250% since 2020, and 28% of 2025 applicants had never applied before – both signals of rapid market expansion. Total assets under management (AUM) of IA 50 firms surged to $130.6 billion, representing a 35% year-over-year increase – driven by the inclusion of new, large impact managers, as well as the steady growth of established firms. Notably, this year’s Emerging Impact Manager (EIM) category lists 21 managers who focus on climate as their primary impact theme, the largest number ever in this category and a category total that has nearly doubled since 2021. This year’s EIM category also witnesses a resurgence of infrastructure-focused managers with three such managers selected, signaling the highest-ever infrastructure focus on the EIM list.
“As impact investing continues its march into the financial mainstream, the IA 50 has become a powerful barometer of industry maturation and the most respected recognition in our sector,” said Margret Trilli, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of ImpactAssets and an IA 50 Review Committee member. “The scale, growth and credibility of this year’s IA 50 managers demonstrate that impact investing is not only thriving, it is becoming an undeniable force in the market.”
Market Signals: Key Trends from the IA 50 2025
All told, 50 impact investing fund managers were selected for this year’s core IA 50 list, 65 managers for the Emerging Impact Manager list, and 50 managers for the Emeritus list.
The composition of the IA 50 2025 reveals key trends shaping impact investing today:
- Growing Manager AUM: A total of 24 IA 50 managers have reached institutional scale, with $1 billion or more in AUM, a 33% increase over the two previous years.
- Financial Returns and Impact Work In Tandem: 46% of managers on the list target market-rate returns, while 28% pursue above-market returns. The core IA50 list is predominantly market-rate (36%) and above-market (28%) managers.
- Climate and Social Impact Priorities: 50% of listed managers primarily focus on social themes such as financial inclusion and community development, while 33% prioritize climate-related investments, including clean tech, alternative energy, and decarbonization.
- Beneficiaries of Impact Capital: The majority of IA 50 managers focus on supporting small businesses, rural communities, low income, and disadvantaged communities.
- Third-Party Impact Verification on the Rise: 28% of core IA 50 managers and 24% of Emeritus managers have impact reports verified by third-party assessors, marking a steady progression in impact transparency.
