John Donovan

Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM), the asset management division of Swiss-headquartered Lombard Odier has selected Equity Trustees as trustee of its inaugural offering in Australia, the LOIM Sustainable Private Credit (Australia) Unit Trust.

Andrew Godfrey, Executive General Manager, Superannuation and Corporate Trustee Services, Equity Trustees said: “We are pleased to be selected as the trustee for this differentiated Australian offering and are excited to work closely with LOIM within this growing impact driven asset class.”

The Trust is the 227-year old Group’s first offering in the Australian market through AFM Investment Partners (“AFM”) and recognises the substantial profile of Australian investors within private credit alongside their growing commitment to sustainable investing.

As a feeder into the existing LOIM Sustainable Private Credit Strategy’s Luxembourg-based master platform, the Trust seeks to provide investors with capital preservation and compelling risk adjusted returns via senior secured private loans to predominantly North American providers of climate solutions.

​Vincent Magnenat, Asia Regional Head and Global Head of Strategic Alliances at Lombard Odier, said, “We are pleased to announce the Australian launch of our flagship strategy that seeks to generate measurable global climate impact and capitalise on what we see as “green alpha”^[1] potential – investable opportunities where the environmental transition may be a key driver of growth. Providing investor access to bespoke income-producing investments within climate transition market niches, the strategy seeks to deliver a purposeful integrated approach, catalysing the resources of Lombard Odier’s dedicated sustainability research platform.”

LOIM is the asset management arm of Lombard Odier, one of the oldest Swiss private banks with over 225 years of experience. A global wealth and asset manager, and a leader in sustainable investing, the Group has total client assets of AUD 517 billion<^[2] as at 30 June 2023. LOIM is a global business with a network of 13 offices and more than 170 investment professionals across Europe, Asia and North America, with assets under management of AUD 122 billion (as at 30 June 2023) ^[3].

Peter Munns, Head of ADF and Anglican Funds, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, said: “We welcome the entry of Lombard Odier to the Australian market with the establishment of the Sustainable Private Credit strategy through a local feeder fund. Sustainable and impact investing is an area of clear interest to Anglican Funds given our faith-based philosophy and Lombard Odier is a global leader in this space.”

John Donovan, Managing Director of AFM commented, “We are delighted to introduce LOIM’s dedicated sustainable investment capabilities to Australian investors, with the aim to provide outstanding sustainable investment solutions.”

Mr Godfrey added: “Our expertise and years of experience in funds governance pairs well with LOIM’s incredible longevity and history in private banking and asset management.”

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Notes:
[1] At Lombard Odier, “Green Alpha” refers to companies which are likely to perform better financially in an environmentally-aligned scenario, compared to consensus. To assess green alpha, market tipping points linked to emerging regulation, cost-down curves, and the pricing in of environmental externalities are analysed, before arriving at the total addressable market (TAM) potential – either quantitatively or qualitatively. Companies exposed to TAMs that are likely materially in excess of market consensus are considered to be exposed to green alpha. Although it is believed that there are investable opportunities related to these transitions, there can therefore be no guarantee of excess performance.
[2] Based on 1 CHF = 1.6774 AUD (as of 30 June 2023), available here .
[3] Ibid.

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