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Employment

Big Issue Invest helps deliver a jobs boost for deprived areas with new fund

Our social investment arm is teaming up Aberdeen Standard Investments to launch the UK Equity Impact – Employment Opportunities Fund to invest in businesses offering good employment opportunities across the UK

Big Issue Invest

Our social investment arm, Big Issue Invest, is targeting a jobs boost in areas where it’s needed most with the new UK Equity Impact – Employment Opportunities Fund.

Big Issue Invest has teamed up with Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) to invest in businesses offering good employment opportunities across the UK, including companies located in deprived areas, paying the living wage or offering training or jobs for young people.

The fund aims to generate a financial return over the long term for the companies, which will be assessed to make sure they are committed to delivering sustainable employment opportunities. Nigel Kershaw, chair of The Big Issue Group, said: “The collaboration with Aberdeen Standard Investments will help Big Issue Invest advance its mission to dismantle poverty and create opportunity for people and communities across the UK.

“A percentage of the Fund’s management fee will go to The Big Issue Group, enabling the organisation to deliver this mission by continuing to finance social enterprises and charities offering business solutions to social problems, across sectors including employment and training, health and wellbeing and financial and social inclusion.”

ASI’s Lesley Duncan, who will be managing the fund, said: “The strategy of the UK Equity Impact – Employment Opportunities Fund is designed to meet the dual objectives of strong financial returns, while supporting good employment opportunities and practices.  By investing in quoted UK companies the Fund seeks to harness equity-market returns while also helping to direct significant capital in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 – full and productive employment.

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“A special job assessment framework underpins the investment process, guiding portfolio selection and helping the Fund meet its impact objectives, thereby helping to address inequalities in the UK.

“Good employment is fundamental to all aspects of personal and social wellbeing.  The Fund offers investors a clearly defined means of investing in companies demonstrating best practice within human capital management, while seeking to deliver a competitive financial return over the longer term.”

For more information on the fund, visit Big Issue Invest or Aberdeen Standard Investments.

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