Impact investment examples
At BlueBay Fixed Income, we are committed to providing investors with transparency around the specific investments we make on their behalf. Below are a few examples of 2023 investments in our strategies across a variety of themes and geographies.
Themes: Investing in people, prosperity, planet
Adriatica Village is an apartment complex with retail shops and restaurants in a Texas suburb located 30 miles north of Dallas. The complex is ‘Green Globes Multifamily for Existing Building’ certified. This is a sustainability certification program developed by the Green Building Initiative (GBI) and provides a framework for assessing and improving the environmental performance of existing multifamily buildings. Like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), this certification evaluates aspects of a building’s sustainability, including energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, materials selection, and overall environmental impact. Recognized by many lenders, including Fannie Mae, builders and developers may be able to lock in lower interest rates for their investors because of this certification.
Highlights
- Multi-family complex, modeled after a village in Croatia, has 211 units offering 1-, 2- or 3-bedrooms and amenities include pool/spa, clubhouse & game room, fitness center and recreational parks.
- Property complex is Green Globes Multifamily for Existing Building certified, meaning the building has greater than 15% energy consumption savings.13
- Green Globes is a holistic certification framework that encompasses the key dimensions of environmental sustainability, health and wellness, and resilience across various types of commercial real estate.
- The pursuit of environmental goals via the Green Globes framework often results in decreased energy and water expenses, diminished emissions, enhanced health advantages, and less waste.
Themes: Investing in people
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) is a non-profit organization that provides comprehensive healthcare services to the residents of Southeast Alaska. Founded nearly 50 years ago under the provisions of the Indian Self-Determination Act, SEARHC has helped to foster the health and well-being of the Alaskan communities it serves. Within many Indigenous cultures Western medical providers are often met with skepticism and distrust. A recent study revealed that US Indigenous Peoples have a deep distrust for the mainstream healthcare system resulting from previous experiences of discrimination.14 An unwillingness to seek medical care, particularly for mental health issues, may be a contributor to the higher-than-average rates of depression and suicide within this population.15 Bringing certified medical care to US Indigenous Peoples through organizations such as SEARHC greatly increases the quality and length of life for many living in these communities.
Highlights
- One of the nation’s oldest Native-run health organizations and one of the largest tribal healthcare networks in the country.
- Non-profit formed in 1975 by 15 Alaskan tribes/villages with a mission to provide the best healthcare for Alaska Native communities.
- Service territory covers a population of approximately 71,000 people.
- Operates two medical centers, 17 primary care clinics, and has some other operations in 27 communities.
- One of the largest employers in southeast Alaska.
Themes: Investing in people, prosperity
This company is a professional training provider for first responders and those that serve the public. It offers customized training programs tailored for the needs of each customer. All instructors are highly trained experts and have real life experience in various rescue scenarios, enabling the company to provide the highest quality and most comprehensive training programs to their clients. The company offers training in four distinct but related areas: helicopter rescue, tactical medicine, mountain rescue and safety auditing. The company was founded by two veterans of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in memory of a former colleague and search & rescue officer who lost his life during a helicopter rescue operation in 2013. Headquartered in a majority-BIPOC neighborhood, the firm provides training that is essential to preparing first responders to effectively attend to a wide variety of emergencies, protect lives, and uphold public safety and confidence in emergency response services.
Highlights
- Veteran-owned small business providing professional training for first responders.
- Employs an elite group of tactical medicine, search and rescue, military, and utility and public safety aviation experts.
- Training programs for helicopter rescue, tactical medicine, mountain rescue, and safety audits arecustomized to fit any agency and operation.
- Located in a 91% BIPOC/56% Latinx moderate-income tract neighborhood.
Kreative Learning Academy – Phenix City, AL
Themes: Investing in people, prosperity
Kreative Learning Center is a female, Black-owned early childhood education center based in Phenix City, Alabama. The Center’s owner, founder and director, Dr. Kendyl Tarver, is a native of Phenix City and is a former educator and coach. According to the Center’s website, its mission is to “integrate a learner-centered curriculum design with traditional manners and values” while fostering cultural diversity and creating a life-long interest in learning.16
Kreative Learning Academy (KLA) was started during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During this time, Dr. Tarver, like many small business owners, struggled to find employees who were willing to come to work for her during the pandemic. This created intense emotional stress and nearly caused her to close her business. Dr. Tarver faced many challenges to keeping her business open during this first year, leading her to apply for a small business loan to ameliorate her financial situation and lessen the stress of running the business on a day-to-day basis.
Dr. Tarver researched small business loan options and decided that she would apply for one through Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), a Minneapolis-based Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI. CRF and other CDFIs like them play a critical role in addressing the financial needs of underserved loan applicants by offering accessible capital, personalized support, and community-focused solutions to promote economic empowerment and financial inclusion.
Over the years, BlueBay Fixed Income has been able to acquire some of CRF’s high impact small business loans for our clients. One such client is Cadence Design Systems. Cadence provides electronic design automation (EDA), software, intellectual property (IP), and system design and analysis products that are integral to manufacturing semiconductor chips. In March 2023 Cadence announced plans to invest $50 million into the BlueBay US Access Capital Community Investing stratgy, an impact investment strategy that supports lending in historically underserved communities by investing in US government-backed securities.
Together with RBC GAM, Cadence sought to achieve their goal to positively support underserved Black and Latinx individuals both nationwide and in those communities where Cadence has significant operations and a strong presence. CRF-originated loans like the one made to KLA provide clients with the investment returns they expect and the positive social and environmental impacts they desire.
Dr. Tarver has a passion for working with children, and after applying and receiving approval for the loan from CRF, she was better positioned to financially support and grow her business as she needed in the short term. And as the pressure of managing KLA abated, she was able to look to the future and discovered that her vision over the long term was to become an entrepreneur. She appreciates that the impact investing partnership between BlueBay Fixed Income and Cadence is helping BIPOC communities and new small business owners like herself. Dr. Tarver believes that because of this loan, she was able to create a special and unique childcare center that provides students with the resources they need to succeed not only in school, but also in life.
This case study is a prime example of an impact investment that fits under the Child Lens and Gender Lens umbrella, while also supporting a Black female entrepreneur whose business is serving a low-income Black community. Looking ahead, we will continue to seek out these types of high quality, high impact loans for our client portfolios across our impact investing strategies. In this way, our clients achieve their goals of making positive changes in communities while simultaneously earning financial returns.
13 https://thegbi.org/ 14 https://hsph.harvard.edu/ 15 https://madinamerica.com/ 16 https://kreativelearningacademy.com/