Impax Asset Management Group PLC (LON:IPX) has seen a surge of new money into its green and sustainable investment funds over the past year.
Assets under management jumped 34% to GBP20.2bn in the year to September 2020 (2019: GBP15bn), with net inflows more than doubling to GBP3.5bn (2019: GBP1.4bn).
The influx of new money has continued into the current year, the fund manager said, with net inflows of GBP1.9bn boosting assets under management to GBP23.4bn as at the end of November.
That surge of new money was reflected in Impax’s own performance as revenues over the year rose by 19% to GBP87.5mln and underlying profits before tax climbed 29% to GBP23.3mln.
Impax said it had proved highly resilient throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and increased its staff levels by 12%.
In the results statement, Ian Simm, Impax AM chief executive, said: “Impax’s investment thesis is based on our belief that companies that are benefiting from the transition to a more sustainable economy should, on average, out-perform their peers in other markets.
“Over the past 12 months we have seen further evidence supporting this view. There are strong reasons to believe that governments, investors and consumers are seeking to steer capital towards markets that offer inherent resilience to environmental and social problems.”
Impax said it finished the year with cash reserves of GBP37.4mln while it increased the dividend for the year by 56% to 8.6p.
