Print this article
Fund Manager Launches Sustainable Energy Investment Fund
Sandra Kilhof
3 October 2013
London-headquartered . The scheme
typically offers investors a 30 per cent income tax relief, and no capital
gains or inheritance tax. Guinness EIS will target risk-weighted returns by making
investments in “green” UK
energy firms, which have predictable revenues, low technology risk and low
correlation with other asset classes, a statement said. “Investment opportunities include solar photovoltaic, wind,
hydro electric, anaerobic digestion and biomass projects. We aim to deliver
returns in excess of £1.50 ($2.40) to investors (including £0.30 ($0.50) EIS Income Tax Relief)
net of all fees per £1.00 ($1.60) invested,” the firm added. According to fund manager Shane Gallwey, many investors are
looking to EIS investments as a means to diversify their portfolios. "We continue to see a wealth of investment
opportunities in the small-scale renewables sector. The UK has a
maturing renewables sector with falling technology costs and increasingly
experienced developers. The country's high and rising energy costs has led many
businesses to look to renewables as a way of reducing these costs," added
Gallwey. The service will be managed by Shane Gallwey and Edward
Guinness who have invested Guinness' existing EIS offerings. They are supported
by an investment committee including Tim Guinness, Tom Hill-Norton, Andrew
Martin Smith and Lord Flight, chairman of the EIS Association. The fund has a target size of £10 million ($16.2 million) and will entail a
minimum individual investment of £10,000 ($16,158). Guinness Asset Management is a specialist fund manager in
energy investing, which together with its US sister company, Guinness
Atkinson Asset Management, currently manages over $600 million.