Oxford Group rolls out sustainable fund

Eastern European-leaning investment firm Oxford Group has rolled out a closed-end socially responsible investment fund to be listed on the Channel Island Stock Exchange.

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The Oxford Sustainable fund aims to add value, achieve capital growth and spread risk through investment and development of a range of renewable energy and sustainable property projects in Eastern Europe and Near Asia.

The three-and-a-half-year fund plans to deliver an upside potential of 50 per cent a year and a minimum of 25 per cent a year, after all fees and costs.

Hadley Barrett, chief executive of Oxford Group, said the return assumes zero leverage of land, meaning a potential for higher returns and lower risk at a time when markets are unstable.

He added that many SRI funds that claim to be sustainable only fulfil a single criterion for full sustainability.

"We have tried to go beyond the lip service often paid to the SRI asset class," he said.

Barrett said investments would be divided into four categories - traditional site sustainability, such as wind, solar, ground, bio energy and passive housing; the infrastructure that links to and from the site, such as roads, water, sewage and electricity connections; the improvement of the local area by creating social spaces, adding greenery and promoting health facilities; and global improvements to the sustainable supply chain.

Barrett said the property market in Eastern Europe and Near Asia had performed well and was expected to perform again strongly in comparison with the international market.

He added that the fund was well placed for the current market turmoil and offered "a unique opportunity" for energy and property development and an "excellent, risk averse" return on investment.

Vygaudas Usackas, Lithuania's ambassador in London, said truly sustainable investment of the type offered by Oxford Group was "welcome across all of the Baltic countries", as it built a valuable foundation for the future of the environment and wider society.

He said: "Lithuania has seen significant growth and investment in recent years, and this kind of investment is most welcome."

The fund, which can be used in Sipps, is seeking to raise approximately €50m (£40m) from high net worth and institutional investors.

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