UK Impact Investor Enters US Through Platform Partnership

UK-based impact asset manager Alquity is targeting the US market through a distribution partnership with Pennsylvania-based Spouting Rock Asset Management.

The strategic partnership will allow US investors access to Alquity’s $7.2 million Global Impact Fund and its $34.6 million Future World Global Emerging Markets Fund.

These funds invest in companies deemed “ESG-strong” that are positioned for long-term financial return, while also allowing investors to access long-term drivers of potential sustainable growth in emerging and frontier markets.

Paul Robinson, Alquity founder and chair, said: “Building a presence in the US market will create an opportunity for us to achieve a quantum leap in [assets] and therefore the lives we transform. Alquity is all about building a fairer and more sustainable world.”

Alquity’s $25.5 million Indian Subcontinent Fund will also be made available in the US market, the company said.

Alongside its five-strong fund range — which also includes products focused on Asia and Africa — Alquity also operates a foundation. The company commits 10% of its revenue every year to the foundation, which in turn allocates grants and financial support to local entrepreneurs and businesses in some of the poorest areas of the world.

Spouting Rock’s newly created investment and distribution platform aims to accelerate the multibillion-dollar ESG and impact investing opportunity in North America, which the companies said remained an early-stage market, while Europe has led for many years.

Andrew Smith, chairman of Spouting Rock, said: “We are committed to offering purposeful investment solutions for our clients, including ESG strategies that allow investors to align their capital and environmental and social values.”

As part of the partnership, Spouting Rock has also invested in Alquity, although it did not disclose the size of the investment. The partnership is the latest addition to Spouting Rock’s “curated manager platform”, it said in a statement, which includes a joint venture with Australia’s Bell Asset Management, as well as a minority stake in global equities manager Glovista Investments and a majority investment in leveraged finance specialist Penn Capital.