Older adults are among the fastest-growing demographics in the US, projected to reach nearly one in four Americans by 2050. But this group is not a monolith.
Stark disparities in health outcomes persist – especially for historically marginalized segments. For example, Black and Latino older adults are far more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, with older Black Americans ten times more likely than white Americans to report unfair treatment in clinical settings on account of their racial background.
Limited financial tools as well as systemic challenges generating income and building wealth exacerbate these issues, with lower-income older adults more likely to die younger and to have disabilities.
This combination – a large, rapidly growing demographic affected by deep inequities – would seem to be an ideal target for mission-driven investors. But even with the emergence of age-tech funds like Primetime Partners and AgeTech Capital, older Americans remain underinvested as a group. What can be done?
Population-lens investing
Impact investors have long built strategies around specific demographics. The approach, known as population-lens investing, has several benefits. In addition to aligning impact measurement and management, or IMM, around the needs of specific groups, population-lens investing can bring together co-investors serving similar missions as well as weave together different investment themes in service of a common demographic (e.g., “health and wealth” funds focused on older Americans). Examples of population-lens frameworks include:
- Gender-lens investing: Investing to empower women across education, caregiving, health care, and other sectors. This approach can also include investing in companies and funds with strong female leadership teams or woman-focused product lines or supply chains. The 2X Challenge, which has become the industry standard here, has been key to advancing gender-lens investing.
- Child-lens investing: Similarly, the Child Lens Investment Framework (CLIF) developed by UNICEF encourages investors to integrate child-related factors like education and nutrition into their decision-making. Calvert Impact is among the US impact investors to adopt this framework.
Aging-lens investing
The SCAN Foundation takes an aging-lens approach to ignite bold, equitable change for all older Americans through impact investing. While this includes technology for aging well (“age-tech”), this also includes a range of supportive services, like care in the home or affordable housing itself. But what does this mean in practice? We’ve found that asking ourselves a few basic, “gut-check” questions throughout our investment process helps toward applying this framework:
- Investment Selection: Does the solution address the root causes of aging poorly in home and community, in alignment with TSF’s mission? Does it incorporate the lived experience of older Americans from historically marginalized groups?
- Impact Model: Is there a plausible theory of change for how a given investment will directly benefit older Americans? Can we measure long-term outcomes?
- Catalytic Potential: If successful, would the investment encourage others to invest in similar models? Would it help bring in commercial and impact investors who are “aging-adjacent”?
- Policy Enhancement: Does the investment enhance our policy work for older Americans? Could it elevate relevant solutions—and expose market gaps—for policymakers and other key stakeholders?
One example of aging-lens investing from our portfolio is our partnership with Dandelion Health. Dandelion is a seed-stage company developing solutions to combat algorithmic bias via the validation of healthcare algorithms. While not an aging-focused company per se, Dandelion was interested in incorporating more thorough bias checks for social determinants of health like income and geography in addition to age, gender and race. By partnering with TSF, first as a grantee and then as an investee, Dandelion has made these bias checks core to their algorithmic audit service, helping improve health outcomes for marginalized older Americans.
Older adults are not a niche for impact investors. They are the future: a growing demographic whose needs will reshape the economy, from health care and housing to financial services and caregiving.
By applying an aging lens, investors can uncover overlooked market gaps, catalyze scalable innovation, and promote equity and resilience in aging.
Brendan Ahern is the director of impact investing and Xenia Viragh investment officer at The SCAN Foundation
