Sustainability
Q&A with a portfolio manager - the evolution of impact investing
In the second of our three-part series of conversations with portfolio managers, Leticia Ferreras Astorqui, Head of Development Finance and Alexandra Tixier, Head of Impact Private Credit discuss impact market growth, measuring outcomes, and team collaboration.
Q: How is impact investing evolving?
LFA: The impact investing market is growing and maturing – and organisations worldwide are taking notice.
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)1 – the world’s biggest pension fund – has made impact investing a key focus, while several major pension funds in France2 publicly announced similar intentions in 2025.
Five years ago, impact investing might have been confined to more of a niche within our client base. Today, many clients across different segments are actively looking to allocate capital to such strategies, to generate financial returns, while also addressing pressing societal challenges. As climate change, geopolitical instability and economic shocks have continued to challenge progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), clients are starting to see an opportunity to combine real-world positive change with their financial ambitions.
AT: In terms offocusareas, impactinvestments are helping scale solutions to mitigate global warming, in sustainable agriculture, the circular economy and waste management, as well as social challenges such as improving access to quality healthcare, education and affordable housing.
Robust measurement is essential, however, as large investors want to know precisely what impact their investment is having. This comes down to alignment and collaboration across the impact community – we all need to be on the same page about how impact is measured and managed.
Q: What sets Allianz Global Investors apart here?
LFA: At AllianzGI, we’ve been developing strategies focused on impact investing for 10 years. We started our journey in emerging markets through the launch of blended finance vehicles, and we now manage five largescale blended solutions across the platform. In addition to blended finance, we have also made significant progress by growing the scale of our solutions and expanding into impact investing in Europe through the launch of the impact private credit strategy in 2024. Now we are seeing impact being considered as a significant value-add and strategic differentiator.
A key strength of our offering is the collaboration between the investment teams and our Impact and Sustainability Private Markets team. While portfolio managers in other firms typically do not have this type of internal support and may revert to the use of third-party consultants, our investment teams work directly and collaboratively with our in-house impact team.
AT: This also extends to how we work externally. When we’re supporting companies through impact private credit, for example, we maintain close relationships with management teams and may even have an observer seat at the board. As a lender, we won’t make decisions on corporate strategy, but we represent shareholders and sponsors and can influence decision making and ensure we’re building that impact journey together.
By selecting companies that provide solutions through their products or services, and have strong credit fundamentals, and by financing and supporting their growth, we can help them scale their contribution to tackling some of the planet’s biggest challenges – while generating financial returns for our clients.
Read more in the impact investing chapter of our Sustainable Investing and Stewardship Report 2025.
See the Q&A with Isabelle de Gavoty, Head of European Equities: SRI Q&A with a portfolio manager - Head of European Equities SRI | Allianz Global Investors.
1. GPIF publishes the 2024 Sustainability Report.
2. France’s FRR launches €500m private equity fund-of-funds mandate with focus on domestic growth.
