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.
We applaud the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance and the CFA Institute's jointly released definitions on 1 November 2023, particularly the clarity on impact investing. They say that impact investing “requires a ‘theory of change’ – that is, a credible explanation of the investor’s contributory and/or catalytic role, as distinct from the investee’s impact”.
As this Investment Magazine article suggests, it is not enough to just allocate capital to investees that have a net positive impact, and true impact investment should clearly be able to demonstrate its additionality.
At For Purpose Investment Partners, every investment we make requires a robust theory of change and clear demonstration of the additionality of our capital. With our FY23 Impact Report, we sought to set a benchmark for transparency among Australian impact investment managers, and are pleased to see our work referenced in this article.
Check out our FY23 Impact Report to find out more.
For Purpose Aged Care Australia Chair Toby Hall sat down with Vidit Agarwal on The High Flyers Podcast, to talk about his childhood and school experiences in the UK and South Africa that taught him to question everything, his early career in accounting and investment banking at the Salomon Brothers, his leadership training in New Zealand and transition to CEO and Board roles in Australia.
He discusses his leadership principles, how to have an impact in new sectors, the power of listening and storytelling and helping people thrive.
For Purpose Investment Partners (FPIP) is delighted to announce that it has committed $4.0m in debt financing for the first project in Beacon Hill, NSW, which will fund the construction of three specialist disability accommodation (SDA) houses for 8 NDIS participants, on land owned by the Anglican Church Growth Corporation (ACGC). This transaction has been undertaken in partnership with the Sustainable Development Group (SDG), a mission driven development and advisory organisation established to redevelop the excess land of faith-based organisations.
Construction of the houses has begun and is expected to be completed by early 2024, which will provide disability accommodation in an area of high need, with easy access to public transport, and with shopping precincts and healthcare facilities located close by.
For Purpose Investment Partners Executive Director Tim Shaw said “we are very excited to partner with SDG and the Anglican Church in funding this SDA development. Given high land values in Sydney’s northern beaches, very limited SDA dwellings have been constructed to meet the high demand in this area. We are very pleased to be able to overcome this significant barrier to entry by partnering with mission aligned groups like the landowner ACGC and SDG.“
SDG Chief Commercial Officer Jai Sharma commented “we are delighted that the FPIP team were able to move quickly to fund this development. Working with a values-aligned partner was key in overcoming the complexities of the transaction.”
ACGC CEO Ross Jones added “we think the Anglican Church’s Sydney Diocese has an important offering in the SDA sector where much of the supply of housing stock has occurred on the metropolitan urban fringes because of the high cost of land. We have land right across the Diocese, enabling us to provide SDA in areas relatively close to family support. We have more of these and other social infrastructure projects planned for integration on church land. We look forward to further partnerships with FPIP on those.”
Casa Capace is the SDA Provider, and will source the eight tenants for their state of the art designed homes. Fighting Chance are the supported independent living (SIL) provider for the development.
About Sustainable Development Group
Sustainable Development Group is a mission-driven not-for-profit real estate development and advisory organisation, established to redevelop the excess land of faith-based organisations.
SDG catalyse and bring together aligned consortiums of landowners, commercial investors/funders and long-term tenants to activate sites and drive outcomes that are sustainable for the long-term.
About Anglican Church Growth Corporation
Anglican Church Growth Corporation is an entity within the Anglican Diocese of Sydney whose purpose is to develop strategy and assist in the provision of resources for ministry initiatives involving the acquisition or development of property in greenfield and existing urban areas.
About For Purpose Investment Partners
For Purpose Investment Partners is a not-for-profit social impact investment manager, created to pursue an important mission; bringing private sector capital and capabilities into sizeable businesses and projects to create significant social impact.
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.
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.
