Investing wisely may seem a bit of a given. However, there are so many confusing and attractive options out there – along with tempting “get rich quick” rabbit-potholes which could easily lead you sideways – that your monetary journey may not be as carefree as you first thought. Along with a desire to meet short-term and/or long-term goals, successful purposeful investing allows you the opportunity to be flexible, and ensures you’re prepared for any unforeseen emergencies.
It would behoove you, however, to do your homework/due diligence in order for you to reach the destination where you and your money are hopefully headed. Investigate, the key to investing successfully is right there in the name. The goal is to invest purposefully. Have a plan and stick to it. Review it as much as you like, but avoid kneejerk reactions.
In it for the long run
Whether it be relationships, life, or even your favourite sports team, it is pretty much guaranteed that there are going to be ups and downs. Peaks and valleys are normal, and should be expected.
The same holds true for investments. There are, of course, High Risk/High Reward investment options – but that’s a whole other ball of financial wax.
If you buy or sell on reactionary impulse, the short-term outcome may be exactly what you expect. But, as the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.
And you want to win. It’s likely that you don’t want to just do okay, and gain some sort of participation award. If just showing up is what makes you happy, wonderful – but that’s not always cutting-edge leadership material.
Have an impact
One of the key ways to invest purposefully – and ultimately empower change – is through the process of impact investing. Essentially, “impact investing” is a combination of traditional investing and philanthropy. It’s the sweet spot destination where financial gains, environmental change, and social change all meet.
In a world faced with such seemingly insurmountable challenges as social inequality, poverty, and climate change, impact investing has a chance of being our salvation, one of the main reasons being the fact that one of its most powerful benefits is its ability to foster collaboration.
Impact Investing spans a wide range of environmental and social issues; including:
- Affordable Housing
- Clean Water & Sanitation
- Recycled Energy
- Education
- Health Care
- Recycled Energy
- Microfinancing – the reducing of poverty through financial services to underserved populations
Often willing to accept slightly lower financial returns if the environmental and social impact is significant, impact investors evaluate their investments based on the triple bottom line of financial, social, and environmental performance.
Impact investing isn’t just some passing financial trend, it’s a complete paradigm shift. Simply put: impact investing is not just about making money, it’s about making a difference.
The Powers of Purposeful
Despite its relatively recent debut in the investment world, purposeful impact investing is experiencing notable growth.
Case in point: the Tony Elumelu Foundation – the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, driving poverty eradication, and increasing economic empowerment in women.
The Foundation has not only been a prominent champion of impact investing through the development of initiatives that harness the transformative power of entrepreneurship to create positive change in Africa and beyond, but it has also played a pivotal role in nurturing an impact ecosystem by raising awareness of impact investing and demonstrating its potential to inspire other investors to channel their resources towards sustainable development.
By investing in entrepreneurs and equipping them with seed capital funding – as well as essential training, tools, and resources, along with access to networks and market linkages – the Foundation has fostered a new generation of Africans that are driven not solely by profit, but also by purpose.
Expect the unexpected
You aren’t always going to be right. This is a harsh reality of life.
Trust your educated gut, and make your own luck. If the customer is always right, think of yourself as a monetary customer: a person who doesn’t make rapid-fire scattershot guesses based solely on what the trend du jour is, but a purposeful investor whose decisions are based on hard facts and potential outcomes. There’s a reason that successful, knowledgeable financial planners and financial advisors often come highly prized.
When you make a purposeful investment, you enhance the possibilities of empowering change in yourself, your business’ reach, and ultimately your business’ bottom line. Do your research and look before you leap. By investing the time, your financial fruits could prove to be bountiful and rewarding.
The question you should be asking yourself is: what do you and your company purposefully plan on doing?
Invest with purpose and you can make a positive impact on our world. THAT’S a legacy.
Peter Campbell | Contributing Writer
