Research

We empower private wealth holders to drive evidence-based impact with confidence through our unique capability to combine academic and applied research with hands-on peer exchange in a protected setting.

Private wealth holders can have outsized impact—a responsibility we take very seriously through our research. By grounding our research in scientific facts and practical expertise, we contribute to the global body of knowledge about maximizing wealth's positive potential. Our insights lift the roof of what is thought to be possible and raise the floor of what is expected.

Our research focuses on two main areas:

How to mobilize more capital towards positive impact
How to ensure that these resources achieve tangible impact.

Born from bold ideas at Harvard University and incubated at the University of Zurich, our research breaks new ground under the leadership of our founder Dr. Falko Paetzold from our academic home, the University of St.Gallen (HSG). Our global research team spans three continents, collaborating with a dynamic network of scholars who share our mission to transform how wealth creates impact, including our research collaborators at RSM Rotterdam, EBS University, MIT Sloan School of Management and Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS).

Our Flywheel constantly turns, bringing up real-world questions that are turned into actionable insights, empowering wealth holders to drive real-world impact with confidence based on facts.

From questions to knowledge

Answering key questions on maximizing investor impact and enabling more investors to move capital toward impact.

Applied Research Investor's Guide to Impact Wealth Management

This guide provides a practical entry point for wealth holders looking to integrate impact into their wealth structures and investment portfolios.

Applied Research Investor's Guide to Multicapital Strategies

This guide gives wealth holders the framework and insights to strategically deploy all their resources - relationships, knowledge, reputation, money and...

Applied Research Insights from Journeys of Eight Asian Families

This guide features eight diverse, multi-generational families in Asia who are intentionally deploying capital and leveraging business for good.

Academic Research Preparing fertile ground: How does the quality of business environments affect MSE growth?

This study examines how local business environment quality affects the growth outcomes of microfinance clients using administrative data and policy changes...

Academic Research Who Pays for Sustainability? An Analysis of Sustainability-Linked Bonds

This study examines how sustainability-linked bonds perform in financial markets.

Academic Research Do Investors Care About Impact?

This study examines how investors value sustainable investments by analyzing their willingness-to-pay responses to different levels of social impact using...