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Nuveen, the $1.3 trillion investment management arm of insurance giant TIAA, is betting that “climate change and inequality, two of the biggest challenges the world faces, can be addressed by commercial businesses,” said Rekha Unnithan, head of Nuveen’s private equity impact division. Unnithan said changing regulations and consumer sentiment makes such solutions “a compelling investment opportunity.”
Nuveen’s second impact private equity fund has secured commitments of CAD $200 million (about US$147 million) in a first close from global investors, including Danish pension fund Velliv.
“We believe that impact investing demonstrates how generating returns can go hand in hand with addressing the world’s challenges, whether they are social, environmental or a combination of both,” said Velliv’s Anders Stensbol.
Climate resilience
Velliv was also an investor in Nuveen’s $218 million inaugural impact fund, which also focused on climate change and inequality. That fund backed eight global businesses, including Perch Energy, a Boston-based manager of community solar projects. Nuveen says the new fund will invest with a climate resilience lens to extend basic financial services to low-income consumers.
Two years ago, Nuveen enlisted Shell Foundation to help it deploy growth capital to companies helping vulnerable communities in Asia and Africa get clean energy access.
