RS Group is one of very few impact investors to generate impact via a multi asset-class portfolio, ranging from public equity/debt, impact investing and philanthropy, managed collectively through a “Total Portfolio Management Approach”.
DIMENSIONS
Under the “Total Portfolio Management Approach”, all available assets within the portfolio contribute to its mission for impact and performance, ranging from philanthropic to near market and market rate capital. Impact is generated from local community levels to macro systemic levels, with a goal for the portfolio to generate a holistic and integrated set of value creation – referred to as “Blended Value”.
FRAMEWORKS
RS Group measures and manages performance across the portfolio; in the process, it has faced the following challenges in capturing an integrated assessment of its total portfolio:
- Strategy evolvements over time affecting its ability to develop a unified performance metric framework from the outset;
- The varied stages of organisational development of investees and grantees; and
- The lack of a universal measurement system.
As a result, RS group measures each of its asset class by different parameters. Standardized metrics may be available for certain asset classes (e.g. measurement of ESG standards and carbon footprint in public equity and debt funds and IRIS metrics for impact investments), while customized metrics might be required where no standard indicators exist (e.g. philanthropy).
RS Group believes that being a multi-asset class portfolio has provided access to a wider variety of opportunities and flexibility in choosing the most appropriate instrument via which to generate the impact they seek.’
IMPLEMENTATION
Fund managers and philanthropic grantees provide ongoing reporting on mutually agreed impact indicator, and RS Group also conducts annual review calls with all its invested fund managers. In addition, RS Group engaged Sustainalytics and B Analytics on a project basis to provide additional data on carbon footprint and IRIS-based impact metrics respectively.
PRESENTATION
To share their journey and attract others to join their path, RS Group launched a 5-year impact report in May 2016.
