Omega Global Investors, a fixed-income asset manager, has won a $170-million mandate from Local Government Super to invest in sustainable assets.
The $6-billion superannuation fund and Melbourne-based Omega have developed a strategy over nine months to make bond investments along environmental, social and governance lines that seek to reinforce the United Nations-backed Principals for Responsible Investment.
Omega director of investments Mathew McCrum says investments will be made in so-called green bonds issued by mulitlateral institutions such as the World Bank. Bonds issued by Scandinavian countries such as Norway are also favored. Norway does not have a nuclear power industry, stresses the development of renewable energy and gender equality while maintaing a sound fiscal position.
Local Government Super manages the retirement savings for current and former New South Wales local government employees. It says it has about $3.3 billion responsibly invested through the Australian stock market, international shares, bonds, property and private-equity investments.
Omega was started in 2008 by former Vanguard Investments colleagues McCrum, Andrew Gruskin and George Vassos.
Macquarie Global Investments holds a 19.9-per-cent stake in Omega, which has about $1.8 billion in assets under management.
