We are a leading Australian Impact Funds Manager and Co-Investor
Our mission is to shift capital towards investments that blend financial returns with deep social and environmental impact, and to lead by example in using all of our resources to create the world we want to live in.
We provide investment opportunities in commercial real estate, renewable energy infrastructure and venture capital. The opportunities are available to wholesale clients only, and target market-rate financial returns in combination with significant environmental and social benefits. The company has also established a foundation, funded through its management fees and profits, to deploy capital for impact-first investments, traditional philanthropy and venture philanthropy.
IIG regularly reports to investors on its financial, environmental and social performance. IIG and its related entities co-invest in each of the wholesale investor syndicates managed by the company.
The company was founded in 2013 and made its first acquisition, a $5.25 million real estate investment, in June that year. As of December 2017, IIG had more than $730 million in assets under management (including assets under development) across its three primary business classes.
It employs more than 30 people, with offices in St Kilda, Melbourne, and Surry Hills, Sydney. The company’s management team has extensive experience working as executives in some of Australia’s, and the world’s, leading wealth management, finance, property, and renewable energy organisations. IIG’s clients include high net worth individuals, self-managed superannuation funds, family offices, foundations and an institutional investor.
IIG, as one of Australia’s first certified B Corporations, believes in using the power of business to drive positive social and environmental change. It has met high standards of transparency, governance and accountability, as assessed by the B Lab international standards committee.
IIG is an active and leading contributor to Australia’s public conversations about responsible investing and impact investing. The company is a member of the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia and the Global Impact Investing Network.
These underpin everything we do, and everything we aim for.
Whether it is about climate change, or the way we behave with each other – we own our talk to action ration. And there’s no other time than now. Where others think taking a stand is too great a risk, we think the risk is greater in staying silent or doing nothing. We are unwavering in being the change we seek (especially as a B Corp!). We will help steer each other back on course if we get off track.
We are here to disrupt business as usual and so we should all learn to become artists and inventors. Search for the opportunities and the white space, rather than being disheartened by the challenges. Say “yes… and”, rather than “no”. Experimentation, not perfection, will get us where we want to go.
Expect us to under promise and over deliver. If we are going to have meaningful and deep relationships, we need to be straight with each other from the get-go. We’ll always tell you what we’re really thinking.
Relationships are at the centre of our business and our theory of change. We believe that enlightened hospitality is contagious. Exceed expectations of service, compassion and kindness, and let people know we’re on their side.
Since our purpose is to serve something greater than ourselves, it is crucial that we never compromise the end game for the short term. We will always determine our course of action based on what’s right for the planet, our community, and the business, not on expediency. Act in the interim as you expect to act in the long haul.
Although we are proud of our work and deeply believe in our values, we know that we are just a small part of the solution, and that our part cannot solve everything. Our humility reminds us that there is so much we still have to learn. There is also a limit to what money can solve – and indeed some things should be protected from market forces.
In our business, it is not a zero sum game, where our success is someone else’s loss. Our success means that our investors do well, the community does well, and the environment is nourished. A true win-win scenario.
The first transaction Impact Investment Group made was to buy the Quiksilver Flagship Store in Byron Bay, NSW. The investment was made through the L&S Byron Trust in 2013, with an acquisition cost of $5.25m. Five years later, we’ve expanded into new asset classes, grown the team, deepened our impact works and exponentially increased our assets under management..