Mergence boosts impact investment team

Mergence Investment Managers has boosted its impact investment team with the appointment of Peta Kobrin as a credit analyst.

Ms Kobrin will assess potential investments for the Mergence suite of impact funds. She is a CA with a Masters in Financial Management and has worked in private equity with a focus on impact investments and developmental finance.

Impact investing seeks to achieve good long-term returns while making a positive social and/or environmental impact. Mergence has been a forerunner in the area of impact investing in South Africa. In June 2010 it launched a suite of impact funds: the Mergence Low Carbon Equity Fund, the Mergence High Impact Debt Fund and the Mergence SRI Fund, all of which have met return expectations and goals and shown that impact investing can marry economic, social and governance (ESG) impact with targeted returns.

The Mergence High Impact Debt Fund is one of only two impact funds in South Africa to be rated by the Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS). It invests directly into mature, unlisted businesses, including social housing companies (providing housing in areas where people can work and live), and housing financiers (where banks do notwant to lend), as well as education lenders and unsubsidised public transport.