Graduate Students Lead the Future of Impact Investing in the 2026 Turner Impact Portfolio Challenge
Wharton Impact’s Turner Impact Portfolio Challenge (TIPC) equips graduate students with the skills and experience to design investment portfolios that deliver measurable financial and social impact. In 2026, a team from Harvard University took home top honors, standing out among 48 teams across 20 universities that participated in the program this year.
As demand for impact investing continues to grow across asset classes, from public equities to private markets, investors are increasingly expected to deliver both financial returns and measurable outcomes. The Turner Impact Portfolio Challenge (TIPC) prepares the next generation of leaders to meet that challenge.
Now in its eighth year, TIPC is a year-long graduate student impact investing competition produced by the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative at the Wharton School (Wharton Impact). The program is supported by the vision and philanthropy of alumni donors Bobby and Lauren Turner and founding corporate sponsor Bank of America. More than 200 students participated in this year’s competition.
In April 2026, finalist teams traveled to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to present their final pitches to a panel of industry leaders. The event brought together students and practitioners for a day of presentations, discussion, and networking. Teams had an opportunity to connect with the judges, gain insight into their expertise, and hear firsthand about their career paths and perspectives on the industry.
Bobby Turner W’84, sponsor of the TIPC program alongside Lauren Turner W’85, shared, “I was incredibly impressed with the quality of work done by these students — and, more so, by the passion and commitment to using their business degrees for positive change. As I looked around the room, I was confident that I was meeting some of the impact investing industry’s future leaders.”
“I was incredibly impressed with the quality of work done by these students — and, more so, by the passion and commitment to using their business degrees for positive change.”
– Bobby Turner, W’84, sponsor of the TIPC program
How It Works
Each year, student teams are tasked with managing a hypothetical portfolio aligned with specific financial and impact objectives, as described in a prompt released at the start of the program
The 2026 Investor Profile challenged students to design a diversified, impact-driven portfolio for a $20 billion sustainable investment program within a major state pension fund. Their portfolios aimed to balance financial performance with real-world environmental and social impact, aligning long-term return goals with priorities like climate transition and social equity.
Over the course of the academic year, teams identified specific securities, funds, and investments aligned with their client’s impact and return objectives. They simulated how an institutional investor integrates impact criteria, evaluates risk–return trade-offs, and communicates strategy to stakeholders.
To inform this work, students received guidance from industry mentors and participated in virtual sessions on writing an Investment Policy Statement and due diligence. Live coaching sessions provided real-time support. A finals judge also offered insight into the evaluation process — what judges look for in a portfolio, what sets top teams apart, and how to balance financial rigor with meaningful impact — along with practical guidance for delivering a clear and compelling final portfolio.
This year’s content contributors included Toniic, Arabesque, and Commonfund Institute. Students also had access to a recorded webinar on an Overview of Investment Theory and Practice with Wharton Professor David Musto, and Wharton Online’s four-part Materiality of ESG Factors specialization. Investature also provided support this year, helping review submitted deliverables.
Guidance from Bank of America
A core component of TIPC is mentorship from industry professionals. In 2026, over 30 volunteers from Bank of America—including wealth advisors, analysts, portfolio managers, and sustainability experts—coached student teams through portfolio construction, due diligence, and manager selection.
Katerina Gradovich, Director, Manager Selection Specialist, Chief Investment Office, Bank of America, shared, “I have participated in TIPC for many years, and this was my first year in a new role. Serving as a judge was truly inspiring, as it brought real‑world rigor and thoughtful analysis into their work. I was honored to share my professional experience with such an engaged group and to offer guidance as they translate theory into practical investment decision‑making.”
And the Winner is…
“What made TIPC especially meaningful was that we were not just discussing impact investing in theory; we operated like investment managers making real trade-offs under fiduciary constraints.”
– Shuhaela Fabya Haqim, Harvard Kennedy School
Shuhaela Fabya Haqim, Tan Ziyin Ilyna, Dianah Mukundwa, Chinenye Uwanaka, and Ke Zhou from the Harvard Kennedy School earned first place with a portfolio focused on delivering strong risk-adjusted returns, mobilizing capital toward the climate transition, and achieving measurable impact.
Through this experience, the team set out to demonstrate how disciplined portfolio construction and active stewardship can position large public pension funds as instruments for systems-level change.
Haqim shared, “What made TIPC especially meaningful was that we were not just discussing impact investing in theory; we operated like investment managers making real trade-offs under fiduciary constraints. Winning the competition was incredibly rewarding, but the deeper value came from realizing that impact investing can be both financially rigorous and intentionally catalytic when approached with institutional discipline.”
Runner-Up
“I’d recommend this program to anyone who wants to think seriously about how large-scale capital can be a force for real-world change.”
– Dameun Jung, University of Utah – David Eccles School of Business
Myles Adams, Zach Clemens, Dameun Jung, and Ali Salman from the University of Utah – David Eccles School of Business took second place with a portfolio focused on driving decarbonization by investing in transition leaders across high-emitting sectors.
Reflecting on how the experience built on their MBA coursework, Jung shared: “The process of researching actual funds and managers across asset classes was where the learning became concrete.”
For those considering the program, Jung added, “I’d recommend this program to anyone who wants to think seriously about how large-scale capital can be a force for real-world change.”
Judges
Judges for the 2026 competition included:
- Katerina Gradovich, Director, Manager Selection Specialist, Chief Investment Office, Bank of America
- Mark Hays, Managing Director, Director of Sustainable Investing, Glenmede
- Natasha Braginsky Mounier, Partner (ret.), Capital Group; Senior Fellow, FLCTGlobal; Corporate Director and Committee/Board Chair, UK Charity Trustee
- Sarah Friedman Hersh, Independent Sustainable Investing Strategist (formerly leading functions for two financial institutions)
Following each presentation, judges engaged with teams in detailed Q&A sessions, mirroring the experience of pitching to institutional clients. This real-world feedback remains a defining feature of the program.
Reflecting on the experience, Hays shared: “TIPC is critical to developing and fostering the next generation of impact investors, offering practical, real-world experience on pragmatic, actionable, and double-line return-seeking portfolios needed in today’s environment. From what I saw from this year’s presentation: the future is extremely bright for the impact investing space going forward, and I can’t wait for all of us to benefit from their talent and passion.”
For eight years and counting, TIPC has empowered students to translate investment theory into real-world impact. As sustainable finance continues to evolve, a new generation of leaders is rising to meet the moment.
Get Involved with the TIPC
Applications for next year’s competition will open in late summer 2026 for graduate students interested in participating. Industry professionals interested in supporting the program as mentors, judges, or sponsors — as well as university faculty and staff interested in involving their students — are encouraged to contact Yuri Seung, Program Manager, to learn more.