Nesta is to test the appetite for social investment within the independent financial advisers (IFA) market, in a joint project with Worthstone, who is trying to grow IFA distribution in the social investment market. 

The project, which is receiving support from Allia and Social Finance, will include a survey of the Institute of Financial Planning members, and also explore product, regulatory and compliance issues in the social investment market.

Joe Ludlow, Nesta’s director of social ventures said: “Nesta’s recent work has shown potentially significant demand for social investment products amongst individual investors. However, we also know there is a strong need to better understand the distribution channels and means of communicating social investments if this latent demand is to be satisfied.” The project is scheduled to report in April 2012.