Impact investment vehicle Snowball has grown assets under management to £20m in its first external fundraising.
Ten new investors joined the multi-manager impact fund adding £7.2m to the £12.5m AUM over the six-month period since the fund was opened up to external investors.
CEO Daniela Barone-Soares (pictured) explained in an exclusive interview with ESG Clarity in January that Snowball started out as a “small group of investors frustrated with the options that existed in impact investment”. She added they wanted to create a portfolio to house all the investments and make a return while having a positive impact on the planet and society.
After hitting £20m, the team are now targeting a fund size of £150m at which point it will list as an investment trust.
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Barone Soares said in a statement on the latest fundraising: “Seeing this level of engagement and interest in less than six months since starting fundraising is excellent validation of the sharp focus we have on balancing risk, return and impact.”
As a result of the recent growth, two new senior roles have been created, including a board-level chief operating office, to join the management team and drive the next phase of growth.
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“I’m delighted to now expand our team with an investment analyst to add to the selection and curation of the portfolio, and to create a new COO position to strengthen the management team driving our plans to scale,” Barone Soares said.
“With a flood of options into the market, the key question for investors now is cutting through the noise to assess real impact and a track record of returns. Four years collaborating with impact peers and testing our strategy in practice have shown that we are able to deliver solid returns and deep impact in a highly scalable model.”
Alexander Hoare, chair of Snowball, commented on the next steps for the fund: “The appetite for impact investing has genuinely snowballed over the last 12 months, and what we can offer is a stand-alone investment vehicle with its impact mission locked in. The structure allows growth so that in the future everyone could invest in line with their values.
“Next steps for us include connecting with cornerstone investors, and continuing to welcome the many family offices, individuals and foundations who want to use their capital to create positive impact, without compromising on financial return, to join what we are creating with Snowball. We look forward to building on this momentum.”
Snowball aims to provide low-volatility market returns with impact by investing across all the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global strategy is diversified across securities and funds with exposure to public and private markets.
