OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2015.Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“GSAM”) announced today it has entered into an agreement to acquire Imprint Capital (“Imprint”), a leading institutional impact investing firm and innovator in developing investment solutions that generate measurable environmental, social, and effective governance (“ESG”) impact alongside a financial return. Imprint’s team of investors collectively brings decades of ESG and impact investing experience across public and private markets on a global basis. This acquisition deepens GSAM’s ability to deliver market-leading ESG and impact investment opportunities, advice and portfolio analytics for our clients seeking to clearly align their portfolios with their broader values and objectives.

“GSAM’s acquisition of Imprint’s business affirms our strong commitment to ESG and impact investing and providing our clients with innovative investment solutions,” said Timothy J. O’Neill and Eric S. Lane, co-heads of the Investment Management Division at Goldman Sachs. “The holistic ESG and impact investing portfolio advisory capabilities that we gain from this acquisition are a strong complement to the existing ESG offerings within GSAM.”

“The further development of our ESG and impact investing platform through the acquisition of Imprint’s business is critical to address the needs of our clients,” said Hugh Lawson, global head of ESG Investing for the Investment Management Division. “Our investing clients are interested in deploying their assets in a way that amplifies their broader values while generating investment returns in a rigorous and risk aware manner. Imprint’s expertise will allow our clients to access a wider array of thoughtfully designed ESG and impact investments in all major public and private markets.”

John Goldstein and Taylor Jordan, co-founders of Imprint, said: “We are pleased to be joining Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Their commitment to ESG investing, global reach, and strong investment and risk management culture will be valued by our clients and are a natural fit with how we work with investors today. Impact investing is a key area of innovation that is moving from being a niche area of the market to a core approach on a total portfolio basis. Combining our expertise with GSAM’s broader investment and risk management resources we believe makes for a market leading offering.”

As part of this transaction, the Imprint team will join GSAM and continue to be based in San Francisco and maintain a presence in New York. Subject to certain conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the next few months.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the asset management arm of the Investment Management Division in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), which oversees \\$1.18 trillion in assets under supervision as of March 31, 2015. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been providing discretionary investment advisory services since 1988 and has investment professionals in all major financial centers around the world. The company offers investment strategies across a broad range of asset classes to institutional and individual clients globally. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.

Imprint is an investment adviser registered with the SEC exclusively focused on impact investing. Impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Imprint works with clients to develop and manage impact investment programs and portfolios across investment areas and asset classes. Services are designed to provide full customization based on clients’ specific goals and priorities. Imprint assists in every aspect of impact investing from creating programs to building and managing portfolios.