White Oak Global Advisors has adopted Global Impact’s impact analytics system, Impact Rate of Return.

Howard W. Buffett, president of advisory firm Global Impact, will work with White Oak as an advisor, guiding the implementation and use of this new system. He will be working alongside Teresa Cutter, White Oak’s head of ESG and impact, establishing Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation-compliant (SFDR) metrics.

Cutter said: “With Howard’s innovative and multi-dimensional approach to performance measurement and management, we are now even better positioned to offer reporting solutions that are SFDR-aligned, as well as provide greater transparency and measurability around the impact of White Oak’s investments.”

Buffett added: “White Oak is ahead of the curve when it comes to building ESG solutions within private debt markets.

“I look forward to working with such an established team of advisors and to helping guide the company’s ESG and impact efforts.”

Buffett serves on the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing for Columbia University’s $14 billion endowment.

Since 2013, White Oak and its affiliates have invested $4.2 billion in ESG-aligned investments. The firm's impact strategy focuses on providing small and medium-sized enterprises with secured loans, and has committed to offering products and services that have a positive environmental and social impact.

Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission was praised by the US Impact Investing Alliance for its new climate reporting requirements for US-listed companies. The new regulation, which will be phased in over the next four years, was hailed as a “major milestone”.