ImpactAlpha, June 11 – Australia’s retirement fund for health and community industry employees—known as HESTA—is putting an additional A$40 million ($30.5 million) into its Social Impact Investment Trust, an initiative it launched in 2015 with a A$30 million commitment.
- Investing track record… Almost two-thirds of the initial funding was earmarked last year for a new dementia patient care center in Tasmania. The fund also backed a $9 million homelessness social impact bond. The SIB’s fundraising agent, Social Ventures Australia, also manages HESTA’s impact fund.
HESTA has a A$44 billion investment portfolio, which CEO Debby Blakey says is moving more towards long-term responsible investment.
“As a fiduciary we understand that we need to achieve strong financial returns for members. But it’s much bigger than that. We also need to ensure we’re having a positive impact on the world our members will retire into,” she said.
