IMPACTASSETS 50™
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
ImpactAssets 50
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
Summa Equity AB
Climate Change
Health and Wellbeing
Natural Resources and ConservationFirm Overview
Summa Equity is a thematic investment firm defined by a purpose-driven team that has come together to invest in companies that address some of our global challenges. We focus on companies in industries supported by megatrends within three themes: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. Our investments across the three themes have the potential for long term sustainable outperformance because they address some of the social, environmental, and business challenges we need to solve as a society.
Years of Operation: 5 – 9 years
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: Less than 25%
Summa invests to solve global challenges
Summa invests in companies solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society. Summa’s purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance. Investments are focused on companies that have tailwind from megatrends within three sustainability themes: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. Across themes, Summa’s portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution. Summa has c. EUR 4 billion AUM. The latest fund (Fund III) is the largest impact fund in Europe (c. EUR 2.4 billion) and designated Article 9 under SFDR, hence strengthening Summa’s ability to contribute to solving global challenges through sustainable investing.
We are active owners and support our portfolio company leaders in purpose-driven value creation. Our approach is built around a common framework, toolbox, and impact and strategy competencies, with management organized around a three-phased strategy plan and board cycle and OKR methodology to create alignment on top priorities. We also support portfolio companies to set and achieve core impact KPIs, including the “fundamentals” (e.g., Science Based Targets, gender board balance, and core governance policies) as well as “game-changing” targets (i.e., goals unique to each company based on their core business model).
Investment Example
Summa’s investment in Sortera was founded in Summa’s philosophy of investing to solve global challenges. Through its industrial processes, Sortera turns waste into valuable resources, allowing material to be re-used and contributing to CO2 savings, while growing the company’s revenues and margins increasing its long-term competitiveness. Since Summa’s acquisition in 2016, Sortera has evolved from being a Stockholm based company focusing on collection of construction waste, to becoming a Nordic leader within collection, recycling, processing, and sale of residual products from the building and construction sector. Throughout our ownership, Sortera has grown revenue seven-fold and demonstrated active value creation through add-ons, organizational improvements and focus on sustainability. By putting sustainability at its core, Sortera increased its EBITA and experienced a 15 percent compound annual organic growth rate in net revenue between 2018 and 2020.
Leadership and Team
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Reynir Indahl – Managing Partner More Info
While my role as Managing Partner is varied, I enjoy everything from being part of the deal teams to driving performance and innovation in our portfolio. Additionally, telling the Summa story to our investors and others, about how Summa is creating value through our strategy of investing to solve global challenges. The world is facing significant challenges and my choice was to be part of the solution. While establishing the Summa Fund together with the Summa Foundation in 2016 is my main commitment to this, I also find inspiration in the projects we have in Africa as well as closer to home, helping to improve the lives of the disadvantaged. |
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Tommi Unkuri – Partner and head of Healthcare Team More Info
I am responsible for our work within the Changing Demographics theme. I have spent almost all of my career as a healthcare investor, and at Summa I work with companies across the theme, to support them in their development and paths to value creation. Within the Changing Demographics theme and in particular in the healthcare space, there is a large number of companies that fit our investment strategy, that have strong growth prospects and that are well positioned to bring value to our societies. I am a strong supporter of the philosophy and strategy behind Summa. The world needs better solutions and a commitment by the business community, if we are to solve the challenges our societies face. Within the Changing Demographics theme, it is criticial for a business to be aligned with the interest of its stakeholders, and ensure that value accrues to the community it serves. Such a business is likely to be inherently more sustainable and successful also financially in the long term than other businesses. |
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Christian Melby – CIO and head of Tech Team More Info
My focus is to drive our overall efforts in sourcing the best possible investment opportunities within Summa´s investment mandate and make sure that we run our investment processes according to our standards, methodology and with the necessary quality and effectiveness. I also lead sourcing efforts within our Tech Enabled Businesses investment theme, and have been responsible for several successful investment cases within this area. I am very curious and interested in how technology represents solutions to many of the challenges the world are facing, thus representing tremendous investment opportunities. I am very passionate about my work. With Summa, the passion has increased even further due to energy created from building a new firm and investing solely in companies that contributes positively to society. |
Financial Performance
Impact Performance
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Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments: |
100%
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Sustainability risks are initially assessed alongside other types of risk as part of a rigorous DD process. The ESG DD must confirm that company meets the Article 9 mandate, i.e.: characteristics of a sustainable investment. This includes a defined set of criteria across the ESG dimension, such as the ability to transition to net zero by 2050 at the latest, supervisory boards to have 40% female representation and the ability to adopt strong standards for Good Governance, including, but not limited to the UN Global Compact. We typically work with external consultants and experts when we carry out these evaluations. Different ESG issues are prioritized in the DD depending on materiality to the business, to the broader set of stakeholders and the level of impact If there are material adverse impacts or other sustainability risks that cannot be solved or mitigated, it will result in a decision not to invest.
Yes, including topics such as employee diversity, safe & inclusive workspace, etc., and is part of ESG DD assessment of management and company (refer to details as above)
Impact Tracking and Monitoring
Learn More
Birger Jarlsgatan 27, 11145 Stockholm, Sweden
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