OP and Finnfund to establish Finland’s first global impact fund

OP and Finnfund will establish Finland’s first impact fund that will invest into emerging markets. The OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I will promote the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in a measurable way while providing an attractive return for investors.

As a new type of fund in the Finnish market, OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I will seek systematic and measurable impact, primarily by investing into projects in the fields of sustainable agriculture and forestry, renewable energy and financial institutions. The investments will support mitigating and adapting to climate change, creating sustainable employment, as well as safeguarding affordable and clean energy. The fund will invest in developing countries defined by the OECD, while providing attractive returns for investors. OP Fund Management Company Ltd will act as the Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) of the fund. The fund is targeted at professional investors.

“In addition to competitive returns and responsibility criteria, our clients increasingly want their investments to have a real impact. Finnfund’s investment and impact expertise in emerging markets, combined with OP’s experience in alternative investment funds, provide our clients with a unique opportunity to create positive change. The impact fund further supports our position as the pioneer in responsible investment, and we want to be ambitious in developing new solutions for our clients in the future as well,” says Tuomas Virtala, Head of Asset Management for Corporate and Institutional Customers at OP.

“Impact investing has rapidly grown from a niche product to a global market worth more than USD 500 billion. According to the UN, the annual funding deficit required to achieve the sustainable development goals is EUR 2,200 billion. We are delighted that Finnfund and OP can now provide Finnish investors the opportunity to access genuine and profitable impact investing,” adds Markus Pietikäinen, Chief Investment Officer of Finnfund.

OP Financial Group’s insurance companies and Finnfund will act as the first anchor investors in the fund. Marketing to investors will begin in autumn 2019.

With 40 years of development finance experience, Finnfund is one of the 60 global investors who have committed to the Operating Principles for Impact Management (the Principles) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. These Principles will also be applied in assessing the investments of the OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I.

Press enquiries:

OP Corporate Communications, tel. +358 50 523 9904, viestinta (a) op.fi

Further information:
Tuomas Virtala, Head of Asset Management for Corporate and Institutional Customers, OP, tel. +358 50 549 5252, tuomas.virtala (a) op.fi
Markus Pietikäinen, Chief Investment Officer, Finnfund, tel. +358 40 525 3024, markus.pietikainen (a) finnfund.fi

OP Financial Group is Finland’s largest financial services group whose mission is to create sustainable prosperity, security and wellbeing for its owner-customers and in its operating region by means of its strong capital base and efficiency. OP Financial Group consists of 153 OP cooperative banks, its central cooperative OP Cooperative, and the latter’s subsidiaries and affiliates. The Group has a staff of 12,000 and 1.9 million owner-customers. www.op.fi

Finnfund is a Finnish development financier and professional impact investor. We build a sustainable world by investing in responsible and profitable businesses in developing countries. Each year we invest 150–200 million euros in 20-30 projects, emphasising renewable energy, sustainable forestry, sustainable agriculture and financial institutions. Today Finnfund’s investments and commitments total about 800 million euros, half of them in Africa. The company has 83 employees. For more information, please visit www.finnfund.fi