On February 10th Vanderbilt Financial Group CEO, Steve Distante, had the opportunity to speak with Chintan Panchal, the founder of the New York office for law firm, RPCK. We like to call Chintan the "Impact Attorney" as his practice specializes on advising clients on impact investments.
To gain insight into Chintan’s role in the Impact Investing arena, and to learn from his experiences and expertise, we decided to ask him a few questions. Here is part two of our two part interview series with Impact Investor, Chintan Panchal. In case you missed it, click here for part one!
In part two we uncover Chintan’s opinions on how Impact Investing has changed in the past 5 years, and how he anticipates it will become more widely accessible in the future.
Maturation
Chintan has been successfully advising his clients on impactful projects and investments for 5 years. In his opinion, the most notable changes have been based in growing knowledge of the field. Chintan has found that investors have become more sophisticated along with mission driven businesses. The markets have developed and the investing public has expressed more of a desire for impact investments.
Forecasting the Future
Most of Chintan’s clients are very wealthy and until now, most impact investment opportunities have only been made available to them, however, Chintan foresees a shift in the accessibility of Impact Investments as they gain popularity and are demanded by Gen Xers and Millennials.
Successes So Far
As far as successes go, most Impact Investments are long term projects so results have yet to be seen. However, he has found that Environmental, Social, and good Governance (ESG) focused investments strategies yield positive market beating outcomes when compared to traditional investments. Most importantly for Impact Investors, impact forward investment clients see results of measurable positive social impact.
THE Question
To conclude our two part interview series with Chintan, we hit him with what he called “the question” and we loved his answer. When we asked, ‘What does Impact Mean to You?’, he responded that to him it means taking resources available to you and adding a broader mindset to create a wealth of possibilities to impact invest.
We hope that you are just as inspired by Chintan's work as we are, and that he inspires you to join in and find your own Impact Journey!
About Vanderbilt Financial Group: Founded in 1965 and located in Woodbury, NY, Vanderbilt Financial Group is an Independent Broker Dealer known as the Sustainable Broker Dealer committed to investing with purpose. The firm offers Impact Investments in socially and/or environmentally responsible, ethical, and impactful opportunities. In 2014 the firm was recognized with the MAP Vital Factors Solutions® Presidential Award for achieving excellence through implementing the MAP Management System™ and in 2015 became the first LEED Platinum office building on Long Island. Vanderbilt’s refreshing, unique, and innovative culture is a driving force to constantly strive to positively impact their community. To learn more, check out http://joinvanderbilt.com/.