Impax appointed to a mandate worth £74m by Skandia Investment Group
Monday, July 05, 2010
Monday, 5th July, 2010- Impax Asset Management,
the environmental investment specialist, has been awarded a mandate
worth £74m from Skandia Investment Group. Please find the press
release, issued today by Skandia, outlined below.
Further comment from Impax can be arranged by contacting:
Penrose Financial
Lisa Haines / Jonathan Caleb-Landy: 0207 786 4871/4873
impax@penrose.co.uk
05/07/2010
Skandia Investment Group re-launches ethical fund to
focus on environmental investment opportunities
Skandia Investment Group (SIG) has "re-launched" the
Skandia Ethical Fund to enable investors to participate in the
anticipated superior growth of the environmental
sector.
To do this, SIG has awarded a mandate worth £74m* to Impax Asset
Management, the specialist environmental investment manager.
The new focus aims to capture the enthusiasm of investors who
believe in the principles of ethical investment, but who also see
the benefits of investing in companies tackling the environmental
challenges of the 21st century.
In the context of the Skandia Ethical Fund, the environmental
sector covers alternative energy and energy efficiency, water
treatment, pollution control and waste management.
Impax has been investing in the environmental sector since 1998
and has a strong track record of out-performance. Impax has already
seen its flagship environmental fund double the return of broad
equity markets over the past five years**.
SIG's Head of Alternative Asset Research Ian Aylward said, "With
concerns over the environment growing significantly in recent
years, refocusing our Ethical Fund to enable investors to help meet
those challenges seems to us to be a wholly appropriate way
forward. Effectively relaunching our ethical fund in this way meant
we had to identify the best manager to fulfil the role. Having gone
through that process we have decided to award the mandate to
Impax," said Aylward.
Ian Simm, Chief Executive of Impax, commented:
"Impax's dedication to providing investors with compelling
investment strategies and delivering strong returns means we are
one of the leading investment managers in the environmental markets
sector. We are delighted that SIG has recognised this and look
forward to providing investors in the Skandia Ethical Fund with
exposure to a wide range of environmental investments."
* as at 24 June 2010.
** Impax Environmental Markets plc, a c. £400million investment
trust managed by Impax, has returned 67.57% versus 31.39% for the
MSCI World Index as at 31st May 2010 (TR in sterling).
Note to editors:
Skandia Investment Group (SIG):
Skandia Investment Group (SIG) is an investment management
business dedicated to seeking out the world's best fund managers
for its customers.
To achieve this SIG has an investment team which includes one of
the largest fund research teams in Europe to research and actively
manage single and multimanager funds.
Given the sheer size of its global distribution capability SIG
has the scale to attract institutional as well as retail fund
managers from around the world so giving customers and their
advisers a wide range of choice in manager selection.
Given SIG's role in regularly awarding multi million dollar
mandates it has developed significant skills in choosing, managing
and blending together manager styles. This has enabled it to create
a range of managed solutions which have been uniquely tailored to
meet the evolving requirements of modern day distributors and their
customers.
These skills extend to the active management of its funds
through the rigorous monitoring of managers against stated
objectives. All managers are held to account for their investment
decisions.
SIG's funds are distributed to investors through financial
advisors, wealth managers and financial institutions. Its
salesforce covers 22 countries including the UK as well as
Continental Europe, the Nordics, South East Asia, Latin America and
South Africa.
SIG is part of the Wealth Management Division of Old Mutual Plc.
- one of the world's largest asset management and insurance
companies with £285bn of funds under management (31 December
2009).
Impax Asset Management (Impax):
Impax Asset Management is a leading specialist investment
manager dedicated to the environmental sector. Founded in 1994,
Impax now manages c. £1.9 billion (Assets under management as at 30
April 2010) across a range of closed ended funds, open ended funds
and segregated accounts on behalf of institutional and private
investors.
Impax has a track record of delivering excellent returns across
long only, private equity and hedge fund strategies. Key investment
team members have been working together at Impax for over a decade
and have spent the majority of their careers in the environmental
sector.
Impax is a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible
Investment (UNPRI) and the Carbon Disclosure Project and is also a
member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change
(IIGCC) and the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR).
Impax has an award winning track record and most recently won
the 2009 Financial News Award for Excellence in Institutional Asset
Management as Sustainable Investment Manager of the Year.
For more information contact:
John Morgan
Skandia Investment Group
t:+44 (0)7834 499867
e:john.morgan@skandia.co.uk
Anne Myklebust
Skandia Investment Group
t:+44 (0) 7841 494 106
e:anne.myklebust@skandia.co.uk