Rather than being trapped within the “impact first” vs “finance first” dichotomy, we instead adopt the concept of “Blended Value” — the idea that positive outcomes can be optimized when the value we seek to create is being viewed through a holistic, integrated lens.
It came as a point of discovery in our journey of adopting the Total Portfolio approach that different parts of RS Group’s portfolio could come to inform and support other parts of the portfolio. We observe that all actions, whatever their intentions, generate a spectrum of outcomes, that can prove to be mutually reinforcing over time throughout various aspects of the investment process (albeit not all aspects of value can be captured numerically or put in a time frame). Consequently, we say a “value” is being generated over time with an ultimate effect of bringing about a greater overall performance and return.
Our desire to be “all in” for impact, thus came from a transformed awareness towards the value creation process as being fundamentally “whole” and “non-divisible” (with the nature of value being an inherent blend of financial, social and environmental components).
As such, we do not see any trade-off between “doing well” and “doing good” within our portfolio; rather, we believe 100% of our portfolio should generate positive financial and social returns.
