How a well-aimed snowball can make more than a dent

"There are a lot of financial services firms which talk about things without it being that interesting...  show a bit more of the humanity behind the brand... the time is ripe for brands with a bit of guts and soul..."

Matthew Heath, CMO Invesco.

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Impact investing is a wonderful idea. It wants to do more than make money for clients. It wants to invest in organisations solving our biggest social and environmental problems. Investments that will also generate returns. Who would object to that?

And it’s ambitious. Most impact investors want this approach to become mainstream because they know traditional strategies can’t ignore sustainability forever.

Many believe traditional investors have borrowed from the future, and the planetary bailiffs are on their way to kick in the doors and demand reparations.

When the pioneering investment manager, Snowball, launched in 2020, it brought its new impact investing strategy to established investors using familiar financial language. You can understand why. They had to build trust and convey safety.

Three years later,  years later, impact investing has grown. Competition has increased. Yet many still sound the same.

Image of a selection of ‘About us’ statements taken from the websites of impact investors.

Be honest - did you read all of them? Or did your attention drift? Did any stay with you longer than the others? Are you energised by the ‘access to a diversified portfolio of private equity investments that seek to achieve compelling financial returns together with a demonstrable and measurable positive social and economic impact’? Probably not.

And that’s the problem. Focusing on trust and safety has led the sector into a noisy blizzard. It’s hard to raise the scale of money needed when everyone competing for attention sounds the same. Without a clear beacon, knowing which way to turn is impossible.

Snowball’s Invest Positive platform provided a strong starting point. The next step was to develop the story so it reflected how far the brand and its community of investors had come.

A good aim requires focus

A review of organic internet search terms helped me to understand how well-known Snowball is compared to its competition.

Whilst some know Snowball, many more don’t. Expanding market awareness is central to growth. But as the website descriptions prove, they need a more distinctive pitch.

Short, punchy interviews with the investors gave me a compelling list of why Snowball mattered and inspired fresh thinking about how to tell that story.

I heard about Snowball’s commitment to systemic change and its deep and thorough research. Many I spoke to liked Snowball’s distinctive multi-asset ‘all weathers’ investment strategy. Others spoke of Snowball’s culture: thoughtful, collaborative, and focused on doing good well.

Some noted that industry labels like impact and ESG are often used loosely. The simplest way to stay clear is to focus on what Snowball actually does rather than the jargon that surrounds it.

Others were motivated by the chance to fund real-world solutions while maintaining strong income-generating portfolios.

What stood out was Snowball’s commitment to transparency and accountability. Perhaps uniquely among impact investors, Snowball invites others to measure the impact of its investments. That openness is rare. Fund managers usually assess their own performance. It takes courage to hand over the pen.

Having listened to the target audience, I wanted to hear more from the core Snowball team. I led a focused workshop that allowed them to discuss what motivated them. We explored many nuances together.

Several themes emerged from those discussions, but two stood out as the most compelling: Snowball’s belief that it represents the future of investing and its commitment to measuring impact beyond returns. If you’re committed to reducing carbon, wouldn’t you want every investment in the fund to deliver it?

I presented a summary of my findings to the Board, made a series of recommendations, and outlined some simple next steps.

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Brilliant. This is really exciting. Looking forward to seeing how it will translate.

James Perry, Founder.

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Moulding the right shape

Working with long-time collaborator Peter Norris and Snowball’s Head of Marketing, we developed options for the new brand position. After rounds of feedback and refinement, we arrived at a core idea:

Investment with the future priced in.

This line captures Snowball’s conviction. Every investment has an impact. Some are positive, many are not. Snowball measures what its investments will cost the future and acts accordingly.

It was also time to move the conversation beyond the ethical niche. To become mainstream, Snowball needed to sound universal, confident, credible, and commercial. As one investor put it:

“People have financial advisors who say, "Well, you need some real estate, and you need some stocks, you need some bonds, and you need some emerging market, and you need some small-cap and some large-cap,". So Snowball does basically that, but every single one of their investments is focused on impact.”

This became the foundation, a starting point, for a stronger, more distinctive positioning:

Investment with the future priced in.

Setting the standards now for the markets of tomorrow.

Financial investments shape the world. The question is, what kind of world do we want? Snowball is a diversified fund proving there is a better way to invest – one that delivers competitive returns. Why? Because when you consider the future, common sense says this is the right way to invest.

Revisit those earlier website examples. How does this sound in comparison? Clearer. Stronger. More memorable.

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It’s a clear, concise, compelling position and a powerful rallying call. I’m energised about the next phase.

Laura Boyle, Head of Marketing

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This project began as a brand review. It became a partnership that celebrated Snowball’s progress, surfaced its distinct strengths, and helped shape the next stage of its journey. A continual evolution built on conviction, collaboration, and a community of investors determined to make a measurable difference.

Book a call if you’d like to discuss how adding 'more guts and soul' could help your brand and marketing.