RM Infrastructure Income, which specialises in secured social and environmental infrastructure lending, has published an impact update on the delivery of positive impact outcomes provided by its portfolio.
The impact update released by the Investment Manager, RM Funds, is intended to outline the background of the orientation towards impact investment, the key objectives, and the commitment to transparency through impact reporting.
The update, based on initial findings from leading social advisory firm The Good Economy “TGE” from their initial portfolio review, found that 46% of RMII’s portfolio by value is already aligned with this new investment focus. Furthermore, TGE also found that RMII, which specialises in lending to underserved SMEs and mid-market corporates, is more regionally distributed across the UK than the average debt fund, with 90% of capital invested outside of London. This compares with an industry average of 65%.
This update follows the Company’s refined investment focus geared towards Social & Environmental Infrastructure sectors, specifically six sub-sectors capable of offering clear positive impact creation for society. RMII’s impact focused lending activity, incorporating six UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), reflects RMII’s target of investing in companies that proactively work to avoid harmful practices, benefit stakeholders through positive societal outcomes, and directly contribute towards addressing the most pressing social and environmental issues.
RMII will release its first full Impact Report, independently prepared by The Good Economy, during H1 2022.
James Robson, Chief Investment Officer of RM Funds, said:
“This is a very encouraging report that really underlines the rationale behind our new investment focus: strong investor returns must be matched by a positive social impact. The progress we’ve made so far is obviously pleasing but we know there is more to do, and we are grateful to The Good Economy in helping us continue this journey through their benchmark reporting.
“We are privileged to work with a variety of companies right across the UK who work to provide these positive impacts yet have not been able to access the funding they need from more ‘traditional’ lenders. With our investment focus in place, it is our mission to help these companies and create attractive investment opportunities capable of producing tangible societal benefits for us all.”
Sarah Forster, CEO of The Good Economy, said:
“We’re delighted that RM Funds has shown their commitment to maintaining high standards of ESG and impact integrity by seeking ongoing, third-party assurance for RM Infrastructure Income Plc from The Good Economy. The Good Economy have worked with RM Funds to develop an impact scoring framework aligned with recognised global standards and initiatives to enable us to report on impact performance clearly and robustly.”
