Responsible Funds, October 2: Fund to invest in Australian Aboriginal ventures launched

A new trust fund which will invest exclusively in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and qualifying joint ventures has been launched in Perth, Australia. It has an initial target of raising A$25m (€15.5m) but with ambitions of growing to $100m within a few years. The fund – which will be managed by Perth-based fund manager Primary Securities with business acceleration consultancy GCM Advisory – will invest in a carefully selected range of established Indigenous businesses. The fund is designed in part to benefit from new procurement rules will eventually require 3% of all Federal Government and Department contracts to be awarded to Indigenous businesses.

SUSI Partners AG, the Swiss private equity fund firm, has purchased the 15MW UK-based Pingewood solar park through its Renewable Energy Fund II from BayWa re renewable energy GmbH, part of BayWa AG – the German-based trading and logistics organisation. Reportedly, the fund reached its second closing in August receiving commitments of $135.6m

Index and ESG firm MSCI has announced, in response to growing demand from investors, that it will publicly report the carbon footprint of its more than 160,000 global equity indexes beginning with 19 across its MSCI ACWI, MSCI World and MSCI Emerging Markets Index families. Link

Impax Asset Management, the London-based specialist investment firm, has completed a €43m refinancing for the 42 MW Kisielice wind park in Poland. It has been reported that a banking syndicate composed of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International AG, its Polish unit Raiffeisen Bank Polska SA and Warsaw-based Alior Bank SA provided the refinancing.

The Ethical Property Company, a social business that owns, develops and manages commercial properties for use by groups promoting social change, with a portfolio valued in excess of £25m, has launched
a £3.5m share issue (with each share priced at £1). An investment document has been distributed to more than 1,350 existing shareholders and to selected qualifying new investors. This will be Ethical Property’s fifth share issue since its foundation in 1998, and represents a significant fundraising for a social business.Novethic, the French media and sustainability firm, is publishing its seventh annual list of certified funds. A total of 120 funds obtained either the Novethic SRI or Green Fund Label in 2015. There were seven more applicants this year than in 2014. The 113 funds awarded the Novethic SRI Label in 2015 are offered by 38 asset managers, including 11 from outside France. The number of Green Fund labels awarded in 2015 remained stable. However, a Green Fund Label was granted for the first time to a fund invested in green bonds.

Mirova, a subsidiary of Natixis Asset Management dedicated to responsible investment, has received the Novethic Green Fund Label 2015 for its fund Mirova Green Bond – Global (a thematic international bond fund dedicated to the financing of environmental transition). It is the first Green Bond to be awarded the title by the independent expert research body – the award acknowledges funds that offer solutions to environmental issues.

The European Investment Bank (EIB), Europe’s long-term financing institution, and Meridiam, a specialist public and community infrastructure investor and asset manager, have announced the agreement of a new €30m catalyst investment in the Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund. The pan-African fund is expected to invest in 8-10 infrastructure projects across the continent. In 2014 the EIB invested in excess of €2.5bn in Africa to support infrastructutre and private sector investments. Announcement

The first European Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) tracking the cyber security industry has this week been listed on the London Stock Exchange. ETFS ISE Cyber Security GO UCITS ETF will provide investors with access to a globally diversified sample of cyber security focused companies. The ETF is a joint venture between ETF Securities, a London-based issuer of exchange-traded funds, and US-based index provider ISE ETF Ventures. Kris Monaco, Head if ISE EFT Ventures, said: “As cyber crime continues to grow, governments and companies are prioritising cyber security as an essential investment”. Link