This is the seventh impact fund that the firm has rolled out.

North Sky Capital, a registered investment advisor, has closed its latest impact secondaries fund, Clean Growth Fund V, with $220 million of commitments. The fund has beaten its target of $150 million - a sign of how impact investing continues to draw in financial support.

Family offices and foundations, along with other investors, have put money into this fund, North Sky Capital said in a statement. 

The fund, the firm's seventh impact fund, invests in sectors such as energy, food, water, transportation, consumer goods and healthy living and aging. The team had already put about 20 per cent of the fund’s money into nine investments. Additional investments are expected to close by quarter-end. (In this context, a secondaries fund refers to the buying and selling of pre-existing investor commitments to private equity and other alternative investment funds.)

Impact investing remains a hot area; capital is put to work to make positive changes to the world – such as reducing criminal re-offending, alleviating poverty or improving working conditions – while also obtaining a financial return. The Global Impact Investing Network, a pan-industry group advocating for this investment style, reckons that the current size of the global impact investing market is $502 billion, based on a report it issued in April. That is obviously dwarfed by the multi-trillion dollar investment market as a whole. UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, recently announced a new fund inflow here.

A parallel development has been the ascent of environmental, social and governance-themed (ESG) investment, where financial firepower is used to encourage moves out of fossil fuels, for example, or promote more open, rigorous financial reporting and disclosure, avoiding sectors such as firearms or those that use harsh labor practices.

“Investor demand for our latest fund is a testament to this team’s steadfast determination over the last 15 years, in good times and bad, and our dedication to make the world a better place through smart, purposeful investments,” Scott Barrington, CEO at North Sky Capital, said.

North Sky Capital has $1.4 billion in committed capital across its various funds. The firm was established in 2000 and is based in Minneapolis, with offices in Boston and New York. 

For more articles about impact investing, see examples here and here.