Impax assets rise 44%, portfolios defy clean-tech stock gloom

13 January 2011
Impax Asset Management reported a 44% rise in its assets under management last year to £1.8 billion ($2.8 billion), while its portfolios defied the gloom that afflicted indexes tracking clean technology and clean energy stocks. Since the end of the year, Impax’s assets have risen again to £2.3 billion.


Investors in Impax’s Environmental Specialists strategy saw a rise of 12.0% over the year, while the Environmental Leaders strategy posted a 15.1% rise. The benchmark MSCI World index rose 15.3% in 2010.

This happened against the backdrop of a sharp fall in the broader listed clean-tech sector: the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index, for example, was down 14.6% last year, underperforming the S&P 500 by more than 20%.

“We were underweight in renewables and were overweight in energy efficiency,” a strategy which paid off for the asset manager, explained Iain Simm, chief executive of Impax.

The London-based asset manager reported a 48% increase in revenues in 2010, to £15.3 million. Its pre-tax profit rose to £5.2 million, from £2.5 million in 2009, boosted by the redemption of a £1 million loan note related to the firm’s exit from a legacy oil business in 2004.

Keith Falconer, chairman of Impax, said: “The backdrop to environmental investing has continued to strengthen over the past 12 months as governments around the world have declared ambitious policies to reduce pollution, improve energy security and stimulate the growth of domestic clean technology sectors.

“Evidence continues to build that the environmental sector is growing more rapidly than the overall economy, and Impax is ideally positioned to build its base of institutional clients who are interested in allocating capital to this area.”

Jess McCabe