Impact Investing a Great Alternative: Incapital’s Ricketts

If you’re looking for more than a pure financial return, socially responsible investing may be a great alternative, Tom Ricketts, Incapital chairman and owner of the Chicago Cubs, told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

Since 2005, Incapital has been working with the Calvert investment note program. Incapital has helped raise $160 million for the Calvert Foundation, a nonprofit organization that invests in disadvantaged communities, and created 200,000 jobs both in the U.S. and overseas.

“Every dollar that you put into a Calvert investment note goes into a community,” Ricketts said. “If you’re looking to do something with your cash that gives you a little more than a pure financial return, this is a great alternative.”

Some of the money goes to micro-lending, but “the majority goes to community lenders in the U.S. — people that are helping to find options affordable housing or investments in challenged neighborhoods,” Ricketts added.

Return on investment can be up to 2 percent. “On a relative basis it’s right in the range of other fixed-income investments,” Ricketts said. “If you were going to consider this kind of investment, the opportunity cost probably hasn’t been this low in a long time.” 

Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong title for Ricketts.