Pengana releases impact investing measurement and calculator tools

Pioneers in the increasingly popular impact investing space have released the seventh annual impact report this month. 

The investment team behind Pengana Capital Group’s WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund have released their report into the impact made by companies alongside numerous interactive tools that investors and advisers can use to help understand the impact associated with their investment in the fund. 

Impact investing specialist at Pengana Capital Group Adam Myers commented that over the last decade investor perceptions of responsible investments have changed drastically.  

"The myths associated with underperformance have been well and truly busted as responsible strategies have performed strongly over multiple time periods, and what was once fringe is rapidly becoming mainstream," Mr Myers explained. 

Impact investments, which are made with the intention of generating both a measurable positive impact and a financial return, have gained increasing support over the last few years as investors see opportunities to channel capital to companies and ventures addressing societal and environmental challenges. 

"The COVID-19 pandemic as well as a series of more localised events including protests against inequality, droughts, floods, and fires have focused our collective attention and raised the profile of positive impact investing. 2020 was also an exceptional year for sustainable investing due to the extent of the shift towards combating man-made climate change. This is expected to continue to provide tail winds to the companies providing solutions to sustainability challenges "  

The Pengana WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund invests exclusively in companies which produce goods and services to address the challenges of sustainability.  

"Intentionality and measurability are prerequisites for impact investors and WHEB Asset Management, the investment manager of the fund, is globally recognised as a leader in the field of impact measurement and reporting." 

The report details the positive social and environmental impact delivered by the companies in the investment portfolio as well as the positive impact that WHEB has delivered by supporting the enterprises they invest in to increase their positive impact.  The full report can be accessed here.

The impact calculator has also been updated with 2020 figures. The impact calculator helps them understand the positive impact associated with their investments, regardless of size in a consistent and transparent way.

Mr Myers says impact investors are concerned with more than just financial return, and also seek to make a positive difference. 

If, for example an investor has $100,000 in Pengana’s Sustainable Impact Fund, the calculator shows them that their proportional holding in key stocks over the 2020 year generated 11 MWh of renewable energy, enough to power an Australian household for a year, as well as recycling, or recovering, 4 tons of waste materials which is the amount produced by three Australian homes annually. 

“That same investment would also produce five COVID-19 tests, save 27 people $1.5k in healthcare costs, and simultaneously provide 18 days of tertiary education for a student,” Mr Myers added. 

“And  it doesn’t stop there. That investment was also associated with avoiding 16 tons of CO₂e emissions, which is the amount used by two Australian households, at the same time as avoiding 38.5k litres of unnecessary water use, which is roughly 618 showers, while treating 145.2k litres of waste water.” 

Mr Myers says the impact calculator helps financial advisers engage more meaningfully with their clients, as investors connect with the positive role their money can play.   
END

¹Investors in WHEB’s strategy are aligned with these positive impacts by investing in companies that form part of crucial supply chains that manufacture these products and provide these services. WHEB’s investments contribute to the attainment of the impact, however, are not solely responsible. The impact is therefore referred to as ‘associated’. Derived from: WHEB Impact Report 2020, the average daily AUDGBP exchange rate over 2020, and Australian Government statistics. 

²Based on a global average carbon price of US$20.81 per tonne based on World Bank and IHS Markit’s Global Carbon Index (https://carboncreditcapital.com/value-of-carbon-market-update-2020/). 

³Based on the cost per tonne of A$60 for a medium-sized landfill.