First ‘sustainable investment-labeled’ fund for Africa
Written by Oliver Wagg

Wednesday, 04 November 2009
Sustainable Capital, a Mauritius-based sustainable investment asset manager, on Monday launched the Africa Sustainability Fund, the first “sustainable investment-labeled” fund.

A recent IFC/Mercer report on the state of sustainable investment in emerging markets found there are no “SI-labeled” funds that offer African investment opportunities for investors

The fund focuses on listed companies with the majority of their economic benefit derived from the African continent excluding South Africa. Founded in 2008 by Kevin Macdonald and Greg Barker, Sustainable Capital is domiciled in Mauritius, listed on the stock exchange of Mauritius and regulated by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius and the stock exchange.

Barker, director of research, said investments in Africa require a “unique assessment of all possible risks”.

“Unlike most asset managers, who focus solely on financial information in the determination of fair value, at Sustainable Capital we believe that by combining rigorous fundamental investment research with detailed investigations into material sustainability factors, we can determine a better reflection of a company’s true long-term value.”

Sustainable Capital said that it had concluded a strategic association Sanlam Investments, a division of the Sanlam Group, a leading South African financial institution with more than US$40 billion in assets under management.

Macdonald, managing director of Sustainable Capital, said: “We are passionate about the impact that sustainable investment has on long-term investor returns and the operating environments of listed companies in Africa, and are very excited about the association with Sanlam Investments.”

He noted a recent IFC/Mercer report on the state of sustainable investment in emerging markets found there are no “SI-labeled” funds that offer African investment opportunities for investors.

Lynton Burger, formerly a senior adviser at Innovest Australia, has recently been appointed as non-executive director of Sustainable Capital.