The Sustainable Investment Awards judging panel praised SLM Partners' pioneering regenerative land management practices as a "very interesting proposition". They commended the investments as "necessary" and "credible".
Founded in 2009, and with $435 million in assets under management (AUM), SLM Partners invests in sustainable and regenerative farming and forestry.
It has investment programmes in three continents across several agriculture and forestry systems including livestock, arable farming, permanent and specialty crops, commercial forestry and carbon projects.
In 2022, SLM Partners says its AUM grew by over 100%. Investment highlights include regenerative land management investment strategies such as Iberian orchards, cork oak pasture and pine forests, a native regeneration carbon project in Australia which has contracted sales of 1,735,613 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) - representing 1.7m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) sequestered.
Paul McMahon, founder of SLM Partners, commented: "More investors are interested in farmland and forestry assets to make their investment portfolios more robust. But we also need to make sure these assets are able to adapt to a changing climate and that land management protects and enhances soil health, biodiversity and carbon sequestration.
"We are delighted that Environmental Finance has recognised that SLM Partners' investment programmes in regenerative land management are beginning to show it is possible to do this without sacrificing financial return."