Impact investing and ESG investing are specific “ethical” investing types integrating social, environmental, and moral values with financial goals. Despite receiving heightened scholarly attention, the difference between impact and ESG investing is largely unexamined, and it is not clear how they differ from conventional investment. To explain the differences between ESG, impact, and conventional investing, this paper draws on a dataset of over 8000 private market investment (PMI) firms. It compares impact, ESG, and conventional investment across firm characteristics, investment preference, and ownership. Results show that impact investors are more likely to be owned by the government, focusing on agriculture, cleantech, and education while avoiding “sin” industries like gambling and tobacco.

影响力投资和 ESG 投资是特定的“道德”投资类型，将社会、环境和道德价值观与财务目标相结合。尽管受到了越来越多的学术关注，但影响力投资和 ESG 投资之间的区别在很大程度上是未经检验的，也不清楚它们与传统投资有何不同。为了解释 ESG、影响和传统投资之间的差异，本文利用了 8000 多家私人市场投资 (PMI) 公司的数据集。它比较了公司特征、投资偏好和所有权方面的影响、ESG 和传统投资。结果表明，影响力投资者更有可能归政府所有，专注于农业、清洁技术和教育，同时避免赌博和烟草等“罪恶”行业。