The Border to Coast UK council pension pool has raised £1.2bn for its second climate investment fund.
The announcement brings the local government pension scheme’s private markets programme to £16bn following further commitments in April of £3.6bn from partner funds.
The pool’s private markets programme has grown rapidly in the five years since it was launched in 2019 and is now around £12bn invested.
The latest commitments include £0.5bn pledged to a ‘UK Opportunities’ strategy launched by Border to Coast in April.
Designed to direct long-term high-quality investment into ‘productive finance’, it will invest in areas such as housing, transport, energy and growth finance, supporting new building and development across the UK.
Joe McDonnell, chief investment officer, said: “The success of our private markets programme to date is testament to the significant benefits pooling continues to bring to the table.
“Our collective scale and strong alignment with our partner funds’ needs has resulted in not only sizeable fee reductions and greater potential for attractive long-term returns, but also access to a broader range of global investments, the development of strategic partnerships with UK and global asset managers, and the ability to focus investment into areas such as climate solutions.”
