Ellen Jones

For Purpose Investment Partners Announces a Successful First Close of its Social Impact Fund I

December 23, 2021

We are very pleased to announce the successful completion of a first close of For Purpose Investment Partners’ Social Impact Fund I (“SIF I” or “the Fund”), with $67m committed. The Fund will target social impact investments generating appropriate risk-weighted returns, and a roughly even mix between real asset-backed investments and investments in operating companies. The blended return target for the Fund is 9-10% post fees.


The first close was supported by over 100 investors and we are delighted that the Fund has a level of commitments that will enable us to take advantage of the healthy pipeline of investment opportunities we have. It is particularly gratifying for us to welcome funders to SIF I who have been investors from the early days of the impact investing journey. There is significant continuity from a range of investors who committed to the purchase of ABC Childcare Centres in June, 2010, resulting in the landmark acquisition by Goodstart Early Learning. Many of these investors also committed to Catalyst Education which For Purpose Investment Partners acquired early this year. We are also delighted to welcome nearly 80 new investors to the For Purpose family. We look forward to establishing the long-term trusted investment partner relationships with all these investors that will be key to achieving our goal of building a large-scale social impact investing market in Australia.


By funds committed, approximately 70% of investment has come from individuals and families, with the remaining 30% from institutions, predominantly charitable foundations. 30% of funds came from clients of advisors, with whom we had not had previous contact, with the remainder from existing investors and other contacts as well as 6% from the For Purpose team.


FPIP co-founder and Executive Director Michael Traill said; “It is critical for our goal of growing the large-scale Australian impact investing market to establish a fund and to have the funding access to move from a ‘deal by deal’ capital sourcing basis. We are delighted that we have attracted a range of new investors to the pioneering investment opportunity of SIF I which offers a portfolio of social impact investments in our target sectors, in a unique social purpose entity with a not-for-profit investment manager. There is a real sense that for many clients the initial investment commitment is a ‘toe in the water’, and this gives us great confidence in the capacity to build on the foundations of the first close and in line with meeting our first close target, to achieve a second close target that builds a fund size of around $150m.”


During the course of the first close investor presentations, we reinforced the evidence of the growing understanding of mainstream institutional funds of larger scale impact investing opportunities. We continue to be confident that the pioneering support of SIF I founding investors will create the proof point transactions that will attract institutional investment particularly from profit for member superannuation funds in the next iteration of this market.


We would finally like to thank our advisory partners Gilbert + Tobin and PwC, who worked on the documentation and structuring of the Fund.


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Acknowledgment of Country

For Purpose Investment Partners acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion statement

We believe that diversity, equity and inclusion at For Purpose Investment Partners are critical in our efforts to create significant social impact. Diversity in the team allows us to better represent the diversity of thought and experiences of the communities that we are aiming to serve, promotes a healthy and thriving working environment, and delivers innovative and sustainable outcomes for our communities, our people, our investors and our partners.