Concordia makes largest Canadian university investment to date into a private impact fund
Montreal’s Concordia University is investing $25 million from its Inter-Generational Fund into Realize Fund 1 – the most significant university investment in a private impact fund to date.
Realize Fund 1 was created with a $135 million injection from the Social Finance Fund; the goal is to match these funds with private investment, aiming to cap the total at $270 million. So far, two-thirds of Realize Fund 1 investors are first-time impact investors.
University endowments are among the new investors targeted to increase impact investing.
Canadian endowments invest billions of dollars. The University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia hold Canada’s largest university endowments, with assets of $3.15 billion and $2.0 billion, respectively, as of 2021.
Most Canadian universities are public, not-for-profit institutions governed by legislation and must satisfy various stakeholders. For example, students and teachers have intensely pressured universities to divest their endowments from the fossil fuel industry.
Many Canadian universities review their endowment investment policy. Some disclose how it aligns with specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Others set targets for pivoting toward responsible investment or ESG filters. Concordia University is on track to reach its 100 per cent responsible investment target in 2025.
Impact investing is becoming popular in the university sphere. For example, McGill University’s endowment is 7.8 per cent impact-invested. Meanwhile, the University of Manitoba “will commit to making meaningful and prudent allocations to Endowment Fund investments that will advance positive social and environmental changes while still seeking financial returns.”
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