Faith-based super fund Christian Super has helped to establish and invested in a new community fund in partnership with Brisbane-based Foresters Community Finance and the federal government.
The fund, called the Community Finance Fund, offers community services organisations a different source of capital to fund the purchase of property or other assets.
"Instead of community service organisations paying rent to a landlord, community finance funding can facilitate community services organisations to build equity in their own premises," Christian Super chief executive Peter Murphy said.
The participation in the fund is in line with Christian Super's responsible investment principles.
"We continue to look for investments that provide a good return, whilst at the same time deliver good social benefits," Murphy said.
"With traditional investment markets so susceptible to market volatility, it is important to diversify into assets that are not exposed to those same market risks."
Christian Super chief investment officer Tim Macready said the participation in the fund provided good diversification benefits.
"It brings exposure to an emerging sector which has traditionally had less accessibility to finance, but which has the potential to provide diversification to the more traditional assets that we have in the portfolio and meet our risk-adjusted investment performance objectives," Macready said.
"This investment, like all investments, involves risk, but the partnership with the Australian government and Foresters adds security to a new asset class and protects our members' interests by making sure that those risks are both minimised and rewarded."
Christian Super has invested $6 million in the community finance fund, and this amount was matched by the Australian government.
