There is a growing need among investors to combine financial returns with investing for a societal good, the global wealth management brand of French banking giant Crédit Agricole Group said.
Indosuez Wealth Management, a 145-year-old Luxembourg-based asset manager with €135bn under management, is launching an impact fund focused on people, planet and sustainable consumption.
The new fund, called Indosuez Funds Impact, will be based in Paris, with a dedicated management team made up of in-house ESG and impact analysts that can lean on Indosuez Wealth Management experts for local knowledge and expertise. No financial details were disclosed.
“Our clients are increasingly keen to invest in companies running projects with a positive impact on the environment,” said Delphine Di Pizio-Tiger, global head of asset management at Indosuez.
Transparent and targeted reporting “allows us to check the positive social or environmental impact of companies on the real economy”, Di Pizio-Tiger added.
‘Underdeveloped market’
The fund will initially be focused on European investors, with a product aimed at US-based investors set to be introduced in the coming months.
“Our world faces a multitude of environmental, social and societal challenges,” said an Indosuez spokesperson, when asked by Impact Investor why the firm had decided to introduce an impact investing solution now.
“As a responsible investor, Indosuez Wealth Management keeps strengthening its commitment to responding to these challenges and our impact fund is one of our new tools to do so,” the spokesperson said, adding that the impact market “is still underdeveloped and offers opportunities in terms of growth, inflows and returns”.
The new fund will focus on investments that contribute to the achievement of the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Zero Hunger, Health, Quality Education, Affordable and Clean Energy, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate Action, Life below Water, Life on Land, Clean Water and Sanitation, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure and Responsible Consumption and Production.
Its portfolio will be made up of at least 80% shares in international companies (including emerging countries up to a limit of 10%) that have a positive and measurable social or environmental impact.
The fund’s portfolio companies will be assessed annually, with an impact report that uses qualitative and quantitative metrics, Indosuez said. The fund will have an investment horizon of five years.
