8IP opens impact investing fund to retail investors
Eight Investment Partners (8IP) has opened its first Australian equities impact investing fund, that invests in ASX-listed companies that show positive social or environmental measurable impact, to retail investors.
The companies included in the portfolio had to prove “impact” track record, the company said.
In February, the portfolio invested in 29 public companies and each investment was cross-referenced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The fund was previously only available to sophisticated investors where it generated a post-fee cumulative return of 23.6 per cent compared to the cumulative return from the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index of 13.2 per cent over 13 months since its inception in January, 2017.
Additionally, 8IP said it aimed to look across the market in search for the companies, rather than focusing on weighting stocks to a benchmark index.
8IP’s chief investment officer, Kerry Series said: “We increasingly felt that there were sufficient listed companies to create an impact investing fund and so we needed the 8IP Australian Equity Impact Fund in January 2017.”
“My belief is that impact investing can produce attractive returns for investors as many of the underlying problems addressed by these companies are long-term megatrends,” he said.
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