The NAB Foundation has established a new Impact Investing Fund (IIF) designed to increase its positive social and environmental impact, as part of its $170 million total corpus.
NAB Group Executive and JBWere Chair Cathryn Carver launched the Fund today in an address on sustainable investment solutions for Australia's housing crisis at the Asia Pacific Impact Investment Summit in Sydney.
The NAB Foundation has allocated $25m of its total capital into the IIF, with $10m already invested, and aspires to allocate up to $50 million by October 2026.
The IIF specifically seeks to invest in opportunities that intentionally generate a positive and measurable social and environmental impact alongside appropriate risk-adjusted financial returns.
The IIF will provide investment capital to support and scale impactful projects and organisations that align with NAB's sustainability priorities. These are Indigenous Economic Advancement, Social and Affordable Housing, and Climate Transition.
Cathryn Carver said NAB is committed to driving positive change in communities and the new IIF aims to unlock more opportunities to address societal challenges and support sustainable development by leveraging the capital of the NAB Foundation.
"The NAB Foundation is already supporting crucial community initiatives by providing up to $6 million in philanthropic grants and partnerships each year," Ms Carver said.
"Directing capital to aligned impact investments opens up new ways for the Foundation to create positive and lasting change."
JBWere will oversee the IIF as the NAB Foundation's investment manager.
JBWere CEO Michael Saadie said impact investing is a growing area of focus for those looking to invest effectively for performance and purpose.
"JBWere is the leading advisory firm in Australia, with more than $64 billion under advice. The NAB Foundation is one of hundreds of purpose driven organisations and families that we have the privilege of partnering with," Mr Saadie said.
"Our governance and impact investment experts are excited to work with NAB Foundation and like-minded clients to help them develop and execute their impact investing ambitions."
A specialist Investment Committee has also been established, chaired by Ben Smith, Head of Impact Investing at Paul Ramsay Foundation.
"The Committee is excited by the potential of the Fund, especially with NAB Foundation's willingness to invest across the risk/return spectrum to generate high impact return," added Mr Smith.
The deeply experienced and diverse committee will work closely with JBWere and other specialists to identify and conduct due diligence on impact investment options, providing the governance framework to guide investment decisions, and further the growth of this important market in Australia.
