Local Pensions Partnership Investments (LPPI), the asset pool for three Local Government Pension Scheme funds, has committed £500m to a new vehicle targeting unlisted environmental opportunities.
The newly launched investment fund – the LPPI Environmental Opportunities Fund – is managed by Helena Threlfall, who joined the pool last year to set up the strategy. Threlfall is supported by LPPI’s 40-strong private markets team.
The new strategy will target investments in climate and nature-related private assets, in particular those that “contribute towards climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of nature”, LPPI said.
It is open-ended and will invest across infrastructure, private equity, venture capital and natural capital.
The LPPI Environmental Opportunities Fund will receive an initial commitment of £500m from LPPI’s three partner funds – London Pensions Fund Authority, Lancashire County Pension Fund, and Berkshire Pension Fund.
The pool said it saw decarbonisation as a significant investment opportunity, given the huge amount of capital needed to successfully transition to a low-carbon economy by 2050.
Threlfall added: “Climate solution investing is bolstered by secular tailwinds, including the proliferation of corporate, government and investor net zero commitments driving favourable demand dynamics, further supported by regulation.
“There are opportunities in both established solutions such as renewable energy, as well as significant innovation in new climate technologies.”
Threlfall joined LPPI last year after 14 years at a family office, where she specialised in private equity and real assets. She also sits on the board of the Institutional Limited Partners Association, a trade body for private equity investors.
