SENNA

Investing with a 'Child Lens' Can Deliver Better Outcomes for All Generations

New York, December 2, 2025 - A growing number of investors are adopting a "child-lens" investment strategy, aiming to direct capital towards companies and projects that improve the lives of younger generations. This approach, pioneered by firms like Netherlands-based Triodos Investment Management, seeks to address long-term social issues that disproportionately impact children and youth.

The child-lens framework, developed by UNICEF in collaboration with over 100 stakeholders, encourages investors to consider how a company's operations, supply chains, and policies affect children and their caregivers. This can include evaluating a firm's impact on access to nutritious food, healthcare, education, safe environments, and protection from violence.

"As a society, we still don't treat children as the unique stakeholders that they are," said Sjoerd Rosing of Triodos, which manages almost $7 billion in assets. The firm's Future Generations Fund has already backed SABESP, a Brazilian water and sanitation company, citing its positive impact on children's health and development.

The child-lens approach is gaining traction as the influential Gen Z cohort, who grew up amid issues like climate change and economic uncertainty, exerts growing political and social pressure. Protests and government upheavals in Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Madagascar have underscored the consequences of neglecting youth concerns around employment, healthcare, and the environment.

"Today's children are tomorrow's youth and the future's adults," noted the original Impact Alpha report. "Issues affecting children have often been cast aside because young people can't cast ballots or vote with their dollars. But as they've grown into young adults, Generation Z is showing up in the streets and forcing people to pay attention to youths."

While still an emerging strategy, child-lens investing aims to get ahead of these trends, ensuring that investments intentionally protect children and expand opportunities as they mature. Industry experts believe this long-term, stakeholder-focused approach could deliver superior returns by addressing critical social determinants of health, education, and economic mobility.

As Triodos' Rosing put it, "Child-lens investing" represents an attempt to treat children as the unique stakeholders they are, rather than an afterthought. With trillions of dollars of private capital seeking to generate positive social impact, this innovative framework could reshape how investors view their role in shaping a better future for all generations.