BNP Paribas Announces Launch of UN SDG-Focused Private Equity Fund
BNP Paribas Capital Partners (BNPP CP) announced the launch and first close of BNP Paribas Singularity Fund I, a new private equity fund of funds framed around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). BNPP CP stated that it has received commitments for the fund totalling €80 million.
According to BNPP CP, the new fund aims to deliver strong financial performance, while generating a measurable positive impact. The Singularity fund will focus on sustainable growth trends, including demographic and technological developments and challenges relating to climate change, which offer opportunities to create long term value.
Gilles Guerin, CEO of BNP Paribas Capital Partners, said:
“The initial closing of Singularity demonstrates the value and relevance of our unique approach to managing private equity funds of funds in order to create a positive impact. This strategy is being deployed by BNPP CP’s specialised investment team in collaboration with the expertise of BNPP AM’s Sustainability Centre and the wider BNP Paribas Group to reach the highest standards.”
The fund will be managed by BNPP CP Managing Director Anne-Sophie Kerfourn and Investment Director Emmanuel Haumesser, and will invest in both traditional and impact private equity funds. It will predominantly target buyout and growth capital funds active on the European lower mid-market through primary commitments and co-investments.
Kerfourn and Haumesser commented:
“Sustainability is at the very heart of our strategy. We firmly believe that fund managers and companies that provide tangible solutions to global challenges will be better equipped to generate higher returns in the longer term. As investors, it is our role to support our underlying fund managers in creating and sustaining positive impact.”
The firm stated that the Singularity fund aligns with BNP Paribas Asset Management’s (BNPP AM) Global Sustainability Strategy. A key element of the fund’s strategy is to support private equity funds in adopting and developing their investment approach and impact measurement, in line with the Operating Principles for Impact Management, to which BNPP AM was a founding signatory in 2019.
Jane Ambachtsheer, Global Head of Sustainability at BNP Paribas Asset Management, said:
“We welcome Singularity to the range of BNP Paribas sustainable strategies, and support the implementation of an ambitious impact framework for the fund’s investment and reporting approach.”