Responsible Funds, July 7: BlackRock smashes $1bn target for renewables fund

BlackRock Real Assets has completed the final close for its Global Renewable Power II fund, with $1.65bn in commitments secured from 67 institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia – exceeding the initial fund target size of $1bn. The fund has invested nearly 20% of its capital in five wind and solar projects across the US, Norway, and Japan, and aims to further build a diversified, global portfolio of wind and solar projects.
New Mexico State Investment Council, manager of the US state’s $21.5bn endowment, has reportedly committed $50m each to TPG’s social impact fund, the Rise Fund, and BlackRock Renewables funds. The investments are part of the Council’s $275m commitments to alternative investments. TPG launched its $2bn SDG aligned fund in 2016, and last month received a $50m investment from Sweden’s Second AP Fund (AP2).
A new Shari’ah compliant ESG fund has been launched by the Islamic Development Bank and Malaysia-based investment firm Saturna Sdn Bhd, according to Reuters. The ICD Global Sustainable Fund has $36 million in seed capital, with around $30 million coming from an unidentified Malaysian institutional investor.
German asset manager KGAL has announced the first closing of its European renewable fund ESPF 4 with €255m of committed equity. The Luxembourg-based SICAV–SIF was launched a year ago as a successor to the ESPF 3 fund, and will focus on “greenfield investments” in wind, photovoltaics, and hydropower across Europe.
UK social investor Bridges Fund Management has closed its latest specialist property fund on £220m. The Alternatives Fund IV – Bridges largest investment vehicle to date – received investments from a range of investors, including local authority pension funds and institutional investors. The fund will invest in property or property-backed businesses that are helping to tackle pressing social and environmental challenges.The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) is the anchor investor in GE Energy Financial Services’ JPY75bn Japan solar energy fund. The fund launched with JPY 46.3bn coming mainly from Japanese institutional investors, and it is hoped that by the third quarter of this year the fund will reach its target of JPY 75bn – with the potential to increase to JPY 90bn. GE Energy Financial Services is the energy investing arm of US giant General Electric. Japan has committed to generating up to 24% of its energy from renewable sources.
Climetrics, the world’s first climate rating for funds, has been launched enabling investors to integrate climate impact into their fund based investment decisions for the first time. The rating – represented by green leaves – grades funds on a scale of one to five. Climetrics is backed by international climate specialists CDP and ISS-Ethix Climate Solutions, and was funded by Climate-KIC, the European Union’s main climate innovation initiative. The European equity fund market is reported to be worth more than €3tn.
Swiss energy, food, and water (EFW) efficiency firm EFW Swiss AG has announced that its EFW Efficiency Fund – which tracks the company’s bespoke EFW Efficiency Index – is up 8% this year, and 4.84% up since its inception in 2014. The EFW Efficiency Index is built around the thesis that financial performance is correlated to a company’s energy, food and water efficiency.
UK social investor Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC) has reportedly re-launched as The Third Sector Investment Fund. The £30m fund, which offers charities and social enterprises investment of between £150,000 to £3m, will now offer longer investment periods (up to 15 years), more flexible repayment terms, and higher levels of support.

Additional reporting by Grace Murlebach