Kerry Series
The 8IP Australian Equity Impact Fund invests in ASX-listed companies that have a positive social or environmental impact and 8IP seeks to measure that impact.
An increasing number of investors are looking to align their investments with their values. The challenge in Australia is do this in listed equities given that the stockmarket has significant exposure to the big banks and resource companies. As a specialist small companies’ funds manager, 8IP have been conducting fundamental research on listed Australian companies for over 5 years.
Kerry Series, CIO of 8IP, commented “We increasingly felt that there were sufficient listed companies to create an impact investing fund and so we seeded 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”.
Currently (@28 February 2018) the portfolio is invested in 29 companies listed on the ASX, across the 10 impact focus areas listed below. Each investment is cross-referenced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the portfolio has covers 9 of the 17 goals.
Brian Thomas, General Manager – Business & Investments at 8IP concluded “This unique Fund gives investors an opportunity to invest in a truly impactful way that was not previously available to investors with $10,000 to invest. Aside from the usual return and portfolio information, investors also receive a detailed impact assessment each year”.
Key Points and Summary
- Research based – Companies are selected for inclusion in the portfolio based on fundamental research by the 8IP investment team. A detailed report on the measureable social and environmental impact of the investee companies is produced annually.
- Examples of “Impact” track record – Last financial year, companies in the Fund generated 8,242 GWh of renewable energy, managed energy efficient lighting covering 562,000 sq metres, recycled 227,000 tons of paper and provided 1,678 rental accommodation for seniors with a satisfaction rating of 81.8%.
- Strong investment track record – The Fund was previously only available to sophisticated investors where it generated a post-fee cumulative return of +23.6% compared to the cumulative return from the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index of +13.2% (the investment benchmark for the fund) over 13 months since inception on 31 January 2017.
- “Go anywhere portfolio” – As a smaller companies specialist, 8IP can look across the market to find exciting impact companies, rather than focusing on weighting stocks to a benchmark index.
- Growing new investment area – According to the “Impact Investing Australia Report”, more than two thirds of all investors surveyed expect impact investing to become a more significant part of the investment landscape in the coming years.