Atlassian founder backs impact investor Melior
Melior Investment Management, an impact investment house, has received funding and support from Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes.
Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie’s private investment vehicle, Grok Ventures, would take a minority equity stake in Melior, having been a cornerstone investor in the Australian Impact fund for over a year.
Melior was launched in 2018 and its Australian Impact fund was launched in July 2019 and currently had $91 million in assets under management. The firm focused heavily on impact and ESG around three key UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of climate action, gender equality and reduced inequality and engaged in 200 advocacy engagements around FY21.
Cannon-Brookes said the decision to make additional support for Melior was fuelled by desire to catalyse impact investing in Australia.
“We all have a responsibility to do better. Investors need to consider their impact on the world, which is something Melior is tapping into. It’s this kind of epic leadership that drives real change across business,” he said.
Melior chief executive, Lucy Steed, said: “Mike, Annie and the Grok team share our view that public companies play a critical role in building a better, more sustainable future given their scale. Raising ESG ambition in corporate Australia is vital to solving the problems we face, including helping Australia achieve its commitments to the UN SDGs by 2030”.
Atlassian was one of Australia’s top technology firms, listed on the NASDAQ, and its share price had risen 104% over one year to 7 October, 2021.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Recommended for you
Australian equities manager Datt Capital has built a retail-friendly version of its small-cap strategy for advisers, previously only available for wholesale investors.
The dominance of passive funds is having a knock-on effect on Australia’s M&A environment by creating a less responsive shareholder base, according to law firm Minter Ellison.
Morningstar Australasia is scrapping its controversial use of algorithm-driven Medalist ratings in Australia next year and confirmed all ratings will now be provided by human analysts.
LGT Wealth Management is maintaining a neutral stance on US equities going into 2026 as it is worried whether the hype around AI euphoria will continue.
