Investing can be v complicated, and there’s a lot of pressure to “get it right.” But putting your money where your heart is aka impact investing can have a really impressive effect on the returns you see in the long run—even if you’re just dipping a toe in the water. To learn more about it, we talked with Jean Case (she/her), the chair of the National Geographic Society and co-founder of investment newsletter For What It’s Worth.

“As a long-time impact investor, I know how daunting starting out can be and how the traditional financial markets throw up barriers to new investors. Building off my experience, as well as a decade of research on social change, we launched FWIW to equip readers with the latest news, tools, and insights they need to build the confidence and knowledge to move from conscious consumers to socially conscious investors in an easy-to-follow format and welcoming tone.”

Keep scrolling for tips on what you should be investing in and how to easily get involved.

What is impact investing?
Impact investments are those that intentionally generate social and financial returns. There are 3 things to think about here:

1. Intentionality. Clearly articulating objectives, both financial and social, particularly when it comes to defining social objectives and designing the intervention to maximize this.

2. Transparency. Insight into the decision-making rationale, being clear about the objectives for the investment, and honoring a sharing culture around performance and results.

3. Measurement. Setting tactical metrics and processes to measure these objectives and communicating progress across these measures.

What should we be investing in rn?
This is a complicated time to be an investor and the constant barrage of headlines and memes is not helping. All the financial experts that we speak with recommend that younger investors maintain a steady focus on the long-term. As we point out in our long-term investing guide, historical returns show the benefit of sticking out market dips and this mindset also allows investors to get caught up in short-term swings.

Taking the long view is not just about planning for your financial future; it also aligns with many of the longer-term focused goals that values-aligned investors bring to the table. Think about it: Whether you’re interested in investing in companies that prioritize sustainability, have diverse corporate leadership, or align with your faith, these changes are going to take time and will require the patience associated with long-term investing. In short, it takes a long-term commitment to make a better world. And as an added bonus, the mindset can also lower your anxiety when the market is bouncing up and down like a yo-yo.

What are some simple ways to get involved in impact investing?
Investing should be a personal decision and everyone’s strategy is likely to be unique to their needs, risk tolerance, and values. As such, I think the first 2 steps to invest for impact are:

1. Define what matters to you. By defining what matters to you, impact investors can both target areas they prioritize and what they want to avoid (known as positive and negative screening), and we have found this really helps focus investing activities to make sure that intentionality is at the heart of every decision.

2. Follow the data. Data, and knowing whether a company or fund is living up to its promises and making progress on the key issues you care about, is key. Unfortunately, worldwide standards have yet to emerge, but, as you get started, looking at free public databases on company performance and disclosure like CDP, MSCI, Sustainalytics, and S&P 500 can be helpful.