25 July 2023
UniSuper, the award-winning over $120bn super fund open to all Australians, has appointed NorthStar Impact as a specialist external listed equities manager. NorthStar focuses on investment opportunities that seek to contribute to positive social and environmental outcomes, alongside financial outcomes. The portfolio will sit within UniSuper’s Sustainable Balanced and Sustainable Growth investment options*.
NorthStar Impact invests in listed companies in Australia and New Zealand whose core business activities seek to address social and environmental challenges, with the aim of generating measurable outcomes alongside financial returns. Its investment process begins by defining issues based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Core focus areas include affordable housing, education, health care, land and resource management, and renewable energy generation and storage.
Some examples of investments within the portfolio include:
- Genex – a developer of renewable energy generation and storage projects across Australia covering large scale batteries, hydro power, solar and wind energy
- 3P Learning – the company behind widely-used educational software products such as Mathletics and Reading Eggs
- Volpara – provides AI-powered software that enables the early detection of breast cancer for health care providers around the world.
The portfolio complements other holdings within UniSuper’s Sustainable Balanced and Sustainable Growth investment options*, including UniSuper’s partnership with Uniseed announced in 2022.
The relationship represents an exclusive institutional arrangement between NorthStar and UniSuper, with a specialist mandate and scope for potential further collaboration.
Quote attributable to Jarrod McDonald (UniSuper, Manager of Sustainable Portfolios):
While UniSuper takes into account environmental, social and governance considerations into all investment decisions fund wide, many of our members are looking for options that go even further. Our sustainable branded investment options* give them that choice, and our investment in NorthStar aligns strongly by providing exposure to innovative companies, many of which are homegrown.”
Quote attributable to Kerry Series, Founder and CIO of NorthStar Impact:
For more information
Zach Relouw
PR/Media Lead
UniSuper
M: +61 3 8831 6360
E media@unisuper.com.au
Note to editors
UniSuper is one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds and is run solely for the benefit of its members. For forty years, UniSuper has been managing super for people employed in the higher education and research sector, and as of 2021 opened the fund to all Australians. UniSuper invests over $120 billion on behalf of over 615,000 members* and manages over $14.5 billion through its sustainable and environmental branded investment options.**
*As at June 2023.
**Sustainable and environmental investing mean different things to different people. Different products have different investment criteria. Read our website to find out what sustainable and environmental investing means to us and what our products invest in.
You can read about our award wins here.
Please note, past performance is not an indicator of future performance. The information provided above is of a general nature only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs.
Please consider the Product Disclosure Statements and Target Market Determinations relevant to your membership category on our website and your situation before making decisions, because we haven’t.
Please consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your personal circumstances and consider consulting a licensed financial adviser before making an investment decision based on the information provided above. Issued by UniSuper Limited ABN 54 006 027 121 the trustee of the fund UniSuper ABN 91 385 943 850
NorthStar Impact
NorthStar Impact is a specialist boutique funds manager based in Sydney, who focus exclusively on impact investing.
NorthStar manages the only Australian equities impact fund that has been certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).
Read more about NorthStar Impact here
Contact: Lucy Hames, Head of Investor Relations
Email: lucy.hames@northstarimpact.com.au