The Wellington Global Impact Fund invests in companies that are focused on reducing inequality and mitigating the effects of climate change.

In 2021, the asset manager's investments in the Global Impact Fund helped generate enough renewable electricity to power 16 million homes, helped enable digital access to 1.6 billion people in developing countries, and helped supply or finance more than 14 million units of affordable housing, amongst other achievements.

Joy Perry, Wellington's Impact Platform lead told Environmental Finance: "We believe, now more than ever, in the importance of impact investing.

"As such, the Wellington Global Impact Fund continues to evolve our impact investing approach in response to major trends, including the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the intensifying impact of climate change, and the accelerating shift to digital ways of working and living.

"Across Wellington's impact strategies, we are committed to setting a high bar for materiality, additionality, and measurability. And as a firm, we have been honoured to play a role in growing the impact ecosystem over the last seven years and continue to look for ways to expand our impact across different asset classes and markets."

One IMPACT awards judge highlighted the asset manager’s approach to impact measurement, specifically, their use of “specific Theory of Change [metrics] and progress against goals that are best in class”.

The judge also praised Wellington for its “direct engagement with companies” in its fund.

The US dollar-denominated share class of the fund has posted an annualised return of 7.5% since its launch in October 2018.