Guest blog on sustainable finance: Blended Capital Group

When IPCM Canada sought a European asset management partner to broaden use of its unique investment approach, The Blended Capital Group (TBCG) founder Paul Clements-Hunt worked with Dr Matthew Kiernan to create a partnership with the €60 billion multi-asset class manager, Groupe La Française (GLF).

TBCG’s contribution helped IPCM to successfully secure a lucrative joint venture with this major European investment manager.

Each week, TBCG highlights how it builds company sustainability and impact at scale. Working with break-through businesses, game-changing civil society organisations and change agents in international institutions, the firm focuses its expertise to help clients to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) disciplines.

TBCG has a three-channel approach to assist clients:

• Dynamic Investor Relations (DIR) for entrepreneurs, investors, businesses and private projects
• Dynamic Donor Relations (DDR) for civil society, social purpose and international organisations
• Scaling Impact Strategically (SIS) for policy-related and communications objectives.

The partnership ran from December 2013 to the final acquisition of IPCM by GLF in September 2017.  The joint venture with GLF created a specialist research investment company, IPCM (UK) based in London and a sister asset manager, La Francaise Inflection Point (LFIP), in Paris.

During four years, IPCM (UK) advised on the re-engineering of various LFIP equity offerings with its Strategically Aware Investing (SAI) approach. SAI places ESG considerations front and centre of the investment process. Throughout the joint-venture, TBCG worked with both the IPCM and LFIP boards and respective teams to help design innovative ESG-aligned investment products and encourage new thinking.

Highlights of TBCG’s work for IPCM (UK) and LFIP include:

• The Blended Capital Groups Clements-Hunt’s November 2016 proposal to GLF/IPCM senior management to create a new low-carbon index for large asset owners. This innovation built on TBCG’s climate-related work with the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF). Today that index is the Solactive La Francaise Zero Carbon Index.
• TBCG together with IPCM and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan’s largest financial organisation, presented the report Asian Sustainable Infrastructure to the annual general meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds convened in Astana, Kazakhstan in September 2016.
• TBCG was instrumental in framing, researching and drafting IPCM (UK)’s January 2018 report for Norway’s Ministry of Finance to map responsible investment practices of the world’s largest asset owners.

Following the full acquisition of IPCM by GLF in September 2017 the company is now known as Inflection Point by La Française. Clements-Hunt remains a Board Director of IPbLF, while TBCG works in an advisory capacity on ESG investment issues assisting La Francaise explore international markets.

The TBCG team, Paul Clements-Hunt, Michael Marais, Charlie Garner, and Marco Tenconi, are geared to help clients achieve investment and projects goals.To discuss our services,

Email: mm@blended.capital
or call: +33634922607