Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has agreed to buy Imprint Capital – which specialises in institutional impact investing – saying the deal will improve its ability to provide its clients with ESG (environmental, social and governance) investments.

Impact investing is a type of investment intended to produce a measurable social or environmental benefit alongside a financial return, a practice that has gained currency in recent years.

GSAM did not say how much it paid for the firm but said the deal was expected to close in the next few months, subject to certain conditions.

As part of the deal, staff at Imprint will join GSAM and continue to be based in San Francisco, as well as New York, it said.

GSAM said it would gain “holistic ESG and impact investing portfolio advisory capabilities” from the acquisition that were a strong complement to the existing ESG offerings it already had.

Hugh Lawson, global head of ESG investing for GSAM’s investment management division, said: “The further development of our ESG and impact investing platform through the acquisition of Imprint’s business is critical to address the needs of our clients.”

Imprint’s co-founders John Goldstein and Taylor Jordan said impact investing was now moving from being a niche area of the market to a core approach used for whole portfolios.