We believe that people should not have to choose between investing for their own financial future and the future of people and the planet. And we recognise that all investments create impact - positive and negative. So, we exist to prove that it is possible to invest money positively whilst making a sound financial return and to ensure all investors – no matter how much money they have - can invest in this way.
It is estimated that an additional investment of $2.5 trillion per annum is required to solve the current social and environmental problems defined under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Government spending alone cannot close this gap so businesses and financial markets must step up to the challenge. Snowball was created to increase the amount of capital diverted towards achieving these goals.
Snowball is a diversified, multi-asset investment vehicle that aims to create positive outcomes for people and planet whilst generating sound financial returns.
We invest in a range of public and private funds that support a variety of social and environmental outcomes across the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We currently have deployed our funds invested in public and private market investments and we target a risk-adjusted annual return of 3-4% above inflation, net of all fees, over the long term.
We have a 3 year track record investing with this strategy.
The financial industry is directly linked to the impact of its investments on people and planet. So, we select our investments opportunities with care and scrutiny. Impact is integrated across our investment process and at an early stage, pipeline investments are screened against our impact framework, which also provides the basis for measuring impact. The framework considers impact from two perspectives.
This twofold approach enables us to monitor and compare managers across companies and asset classes.
Over time, Snowball aims to increase the impact intensity of our investments both by using active portfolio decision-making, and by engaging with management. Our framework rates more highly investments that are intentional, measurable and additional. However, as this is easier across some asset classes than others, it needs to be balanced with our diversification strategy.
Defining and measuring impact is relatively new and as part of our mission we are always keen to share our knowledge and work with others to improve our own.
We have designed the portfolio to make impact investing as easy as possible and remove the barriers associated with impact investing –illiquidity, complexity and administration.
We invest globally but currently have a greater UK exposure and are sector and theme agnostic.
We strive to have a portfolio that is balanced across our five impact themes - Housing and Communities, Education and Employment, Financial Inclusion and Social Justice, Environmental Sustainability and Health and Well-being. However in aiming to achieve our financial goal (targeting a 3-4% return above inflation per annum) housing and financial inclusion and clean energy infrastructure typically feature heavily in our portfolio.
We are long-term investors which means that we invest in asset classes such as private equity where returns are generated over a longer time frame (typically seven years). Our strategy is to invest cash in public market funds and to draw this down into private market investments over time.
For more detailed information on our portfolio please get in touch.
Incentives: we see investment as a service industry and our cost structure reflects this. Snowball only charges investors the operating costs of the fund – which means that as the fund grows, the overall charge is reduced. No performance fees, no manager bonuses – a simple and straightforward service fee.
Intentionality: every investment we make has a specific purpose beyond generating a financial return.
Transparency: we aim to be completely open and transparent with our investees and investors – from what is in our portfolio to reporting on the intended versus actual impact of our investments.
Accessibility: we want to break down the “invisible wall” between the investment industry and retail investors by being as clear and succinct as possible in our communications and how we talk about our investments.
Snowball has a small, highly dedicated team with a wealth of experience from leading commercial businesses to non-profits and from impact measurement to investment.
Snowball was founded in December 2016 by James Perry, Alexander Hoare and Paul Blyth together with a group of mission aligned investors, including Panaphur, The Golden Bottle Trust, C. Hoare & Co, Skagen Conscience Capital, Gower Street and The Taylor Family Foundation.
We will shortly announce our new Board.
We integrate impact across our investment process and the way we manage impact works at two levels.
We invest in fund managers dedicated to achieving impact. These managers are acting on our behalf – and yours – and are creating a shift in the way the investment industry acts. In our new report, we share our analysis of responses to a survey we sent to our managers and you can see more of how our framework operates.
We’d love to hear what you think too. Message us with thoughts, questions and suggestions at hello@snowball.im
This is the second report we’ve shared on our approach to impact. We worked on our first report with The Impact Management Project who work to build global consensus on how to measure and manage impact. In the report we analysed the impact of the ventures and enterprises that our managers are invested in. You can view that report below.
The Investor’s Perspective: building an impact management process for a multi- asset class portfolio
If you would like to discuss how you can help us create change in the financial industry, or are a fund seeking to partner with a like-minded investor, get in touch here.
Snowball Impact Management Limited is an Appointed Representative of The Fund Incubator Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN208716). Snowball’s funds and services are suitable only for Professional Investors. Please click on the Privacy Policy in our footer to find more information and our disclaimers.