Good intentions. Rigorous analysis.
Independent research to help people understand the financial foundations and real-world impact of community bonds and sustainability investments.
How we assess an investmentWhat we examine
Our focus is debt issued to finance projects with a social or environmental purpose, especially investments available to retail investors in Canada.
Community and affordable housing bonds
Debt financing for affordable housing, community real estate, and other social purpose projects. Reviews will examine operating cash flow, repayment obligations, refinancing needs, and investor terms.
Renewable energy cooperative bonds
Community financing for solar, wind, and other clean energy projects. Reviews will examine the assets, contracted revenue, operating performance, debt obligations, and investor terms.
Understand the investment behind the mission.
A review starts with the offering documents and financial statements. We look at how a project generates cash, how bondholders are repaid, and what assumptions matter most to the outcome.
Capacity to pay
Revenue, operating performance, cash flow, debt coverage, maturity schedules, and plans for refinancing where relevant.
Investor protections
Security, ranking, covenants, redemption terms, liquidity, governance, and the rights set out in the offering.
Purpose and outcomes
The projects financed, the evidence for reported outcomes, and the distinction between results already achieved and future goals.
A published assessment will distinguish reported facts from estimates and judgment. Any future rating scale and methodology will be disclosed before ratings are assigned. These reviews will be research opinions, not guarantees of repayment or personal investment advice.
Independent diligence for a growing market.
Community bonds and labelled debt are creating new ways for people to finance social and environmental projects. Some of these investments are available to retail investors, yet independent, publicly accessible assessments of individual offerings remain scarce.
Impact Bonds is being developed to help close that gap. We will examine public documents, explain how repayment is expected to work, and make important assumptions and uncertainties understandable. We will also consider how issuers measure and report the outcomes they hope to achieve.
We aim to make useful diligence available as a public resource. The first issuer analysis and a formal ratings framework will be published after the evidence standards, rating criteria, and conflict disclosure policy are ready.
Suggest an issue for review.
Have an offering document, annual report, or a question about a community bond? We welcome suggestions for future coverage.
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