Triodos IM: Investing with children in mind

September 3, 2026

 
What is child-lens investing?

Child-lens investing integrates the well-being and rights of children into the investment process. It helps investors identify positive impacts relating to children and future generations and minimise negative impacts as much as possible. Child-lens investing strategies combine positive impacts for children with financial returns. They enhance long-term value creation and contribute to achieving the SDGs.

Why should investors take children’s interests into account?

Children make up a third of the world’s population, yet in the investment world their interests are often overlooked. This needs to change. Not only because such a large group cannot be ignored, but also because considering the impact of investment decisions on (your) children helps to make the consequences more tangible. If you do that, you’ll spot risks and opportunities you’d otherwise miss. What’s more, this way of looking at things improves decision-making in the long term. That’s desperately needed in a society where short-term thinking is a major cause of many of the major problems we’re currently facing.

What is commonly misunderstood about child-lens investing?

Many people view child-lens investing primarily as a single investment theme. But it is much more than that. After all, all investments have an impact on children. That impact is often even greater than on adults, because children still have their whole lives ahead of them. That impact can be positive or negative, now or later. If you think from this perspective, your focus naturally shifts to the long term and to solutions that contribute to children’s wellbeing, both now and in the future. For example, children need care that is tailored to their specific needs. And they need a liveable planet, free from extreme heat and natural disasters. Child-lens investing thus opens up a wide range of investment opportunities, extending far beyond the more obvious themes such as education or toys.
 

All investments have an impact on children

 
A good example of this is water. Although we all need clean drinking water to live, the consequences of drinking contaminated water are far greater for children. Not only because of the direct impact on their health, but also, for example, because sick children quickly fall behind in their education. Moreover, because of their long lifespan, investments in drinking water infrastructure primarily benefit future generations. Seen in this light, a generic topic such as water is, in fact, one that particularly affects children.

How can investors apply a ‘child lens’ to their investment strategy?

There are many ways to apply a ‘child lens’. Within our organisation, we use a ‘child lens’ to select companies based on their positive impact, to exclude companies that cause harm, and to shape our stewardship agenda. However, it is also possible to focus on just one of these areas.

UNICEF recently published a framework to help investors incorporate children’s rights into their stewardship strategies¹. This framework includes guidelines on, amongst other things, online safety, family-friendly employment policies and child labour. Tools such as these have made these issues more accessible. Hopefully, this will encourage more investors to actively take children’s interests into account in their stewardship.
 

Investing through a ‘child’s lens’ helps to bring a much-needed long-term focus to the investment strategy.

 
What are the benefits of ‘child-lens’ investing for investors?

‘Child-lens’ investing helps to bring a much-needed long-term focus to investment strategy. It also offers benefits for portfolio diversification. By applying a ‘child lens’, you view the world differently. This enables you to discover new investment themes. Take healthcare, for example: many people associate this primarily with an ageing population. That makes sense, but there are also significant unmet needs in paediatrics. This presents opportunities for investors. For instance, we invest in the Danish company ALK-Abello, which has developed medication to treat allergies such as hay fever. This is particularly important for children because standard treatments are less effective for them. It is also of interest to investors, as the group of children with allergies is large and growing, and ALK-Abello is by far the market leader in this field. Finally, investing with a focus on children’s rights and wellbeing aligns well with what most people consider important. There are very few people who do not want to do something positive for children.

How can applying a ‘child lens’ improve a fund’s strategy, investment process and intended impact?

Working with a ‘child lens’ helps us to focus on areas where we see a clear positive impact on children’s rights and wellbeing. As a result, our focus on where we do and do not wish to invest has become much clearer. ‘Child lens’ investing also has a significant influence on our stewardship priorities. This applies in particular to themes that are relevant to all our investments, such as family-friendly HR policies. Applying a ‘child lens’ led us to realise that this issue is important not only from a social perspective, but also from a financial one. After all, sound, family-friendly HR policies lead to lower staff turnover, which has a positive impact on a company’s profitability. Finally, the use of a framework developed by UNICEF has lent our approach additional legitimacy. Both the companies in which we invest and our investors recognise that we have a robust process for investing in the interests of the rights and well-being of children and future generations.
  

IN SHORT Child-lens investing ensures that the interests of children and future generations are taken into account in the investment process. Child-lens investing is not a niche. It starts with the idea that all investments have an impact on children. This creates new investment opportunities and can strengthen long-term value creation. Investors can apply child-lens investing by focusing on positive impact, excluding harmful companies and opting for active stewardship. The benefits include greater diversification, new investment themes and investing with a distinctive social character.

 

^{1. https://www.unicef.org/childrightsandbusiness/reports/investing-present-and-future}  

 
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