As we mark ten years of Tribe, we’ve been reflecting on what the journey has taught us — about impact investing, about business, and about creating lasting value for all our stakeholders.
These ten learnings come from across our team, shaped by the different roles, experiences and moments that have defined the past decade. Together, they capture some of what has shaped us — and what we’ll carry forward into our NextTen.
How you do things is as important as what you do.
Henry Bacon – Head of Business Management
I’ve always been fascinated by the inner workings of organisations — the less visible systems, behaviours and decisions that ultimately determine whether a business succeeds or fails.
My first role after university was providing financing to family run businesses in Spain. I spent time on factory floors, visiting facilities, listening to employees, and seeing operations up close. Those experiences often told me far more about the health of a business than its financial statements alone. Time and again, I saw companies with strong products struggle or fail because of disengaged workforces, weak governance, or unsustainable practices. Conversely, businesses with modest offerings but strong cultures and clear accountability proved far more resilient.
Years later, I encountered the B Corp movement, which felt like a more structured and rigorous expression of the instincts I had developed earlier in my career. For the past decade, I’ve worked within B Corps that genuinely try to consider the interests of all stakeholders in their day-to-day decisions — not as an add-on, but as part of how the business operates.
One of the most important lessons from that experience is that impact is never finished. Embedding good intentions into systems, incentives and governance is what makes them endure, but it also requires constant scrutiny and improvement. The work doesn’t stop once the framework is in place — it’s the ongoing discipline of asking whether the way we operate still matches the outcomes we want to achieve.
Simplicity drives progress.
Maddie – Stewardship Analyst
Impact investing is inherently complex. Environmental and social challenges are interconnected, data can be incomplete, and there are often multiple valid ways to approach the same problem.
Over the short time I have been working in impact investing, one thing has become clear: if we let that complexity dictate our approach, it can easily become a barrier to action.
When you’re passionate about making positive change, it’s so tempting to try and address everything at once, to capture every nuance and reflect every interdependency. But in practice, focusing on everything all at once can stall progress. Companies may struggle to respond to overly broad or highly technical demands, and conversations risk becoming circular rather than constructive.
The most effective engagements I’ve seen have been clear and focused. A well-defined, achievable ask gives companies something tangible to work towards; or, in some cases, push back on – and it’s in these moment that we learn the most. A clear, actionable ask creates momentum, builds trust, and opens the door to deeper conversations and more opportunities for other types of impact over time.
This doesn’t mean oversimplifying the issues or lowering ambition. Rather, it is about translating complexity into clear priorities, deciding what matters most, where influence is strongest, and what will unlock further change. There is also an advantage in accepting that “good” can be a meaningful step forward, and we don’t have to wait for ‘perfect’, whether that be perfect data, perfect opportunities, or the perfect ask. In a field where urgency matters, waiting is a risk we cannot afford.
Over time, I’ve come to believe that simplicity is not a compromise — it is a necessity to cut through the noise and create meaningful impact. And in impact investing, it is sustained progress, not perfection, that ultimately delivers the outcomes we seek.
We're still only in the foothills of what impact investing can be.
Rhodri – Chief Executive Officer
I’ve been fortunate to work in ESG, sustainability and impact investing since 2012, when I joined a pioneering firm launching its first ESG portfolios.
Over that time, I’ve seen the market evolve from a niche idea, through a period of rapid growth, to where we are today — a more measured environment, but one with far greater clarity around what impact investing can genuinely deliver for investors.
What stands out is how much further there is to run. Impact investing still represents less than 1% of global AUM, yet is growing at over 20% per year. At the same time, investor intent is clear: in the UK, around 72% of adults with investments say they want their money to “do some good” as well as generate returns, but only ~18% have actually invested in sustainable products.
Closing this gap – between strong underlying demand and access to high-quality, credible solutions – is one of the defining opportunities in wealth and asset management for the next decade.
At Tribe, we’re excited to support investors in allocating their capital to strategies that aim to deliver both meaningful impact and strong long-term outcomes.
