November 23, 2020 / Regnan Credit Impact Trust
WHEN Kaitlyn McRae fell pregnant she didn’t think she could afford to raise her child in a nice house.
Then the 20-year-old came across Argyle Housing, which develops affordable housing for Australians on low-to-moderate incomes.
Argyle is partly funded by investors in Regnan’s Credit Impact Trust.
“When I began searching for a place of my own to start my little family of two, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for until I came across a place in [western Sydney suburb] Glenfield, which was operated by Argyle,” Kaitlyn says.
“It had already been leased — but they had this beautiful property in [Wagga Wagga suburb] Kooringal which was brand new.
“When I arrived, I thought to myself ‘wow’ I never would have thought moving out for the first time at the age of 20, that I would even have a chance to live somewhere as nice as this.
“Now I wake up every day loving where I live, how quiet the area is, having the perfect sized home for me and my bub who is due in January.”
Argyle — which houses 4500 tenants in 2400 properties across NSW and the ACT — is partly funded by low-cost loans from the federal government’s affordable housing organisation, the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC).
NHFIC raises money (so far more than $1.2 billion) by issuing bonds to investors such as Regnan.
Regnan is a global fund manager specialising in “impact investment” strategies that offer attractive returns while also making a positive impact in the community.
Regnan’s Credit Impact Trust — distributed by Pendal in Australia — invests in a range of social and green bonds including those issued by NHFIC.
NHFIC offers community housing providers lower interest rates at better terms than banks, saving tens of millions of dollars — while providing attractive returns to investors.
“NHFIC is very important for financing, because it’s possibly as low a cost for borrowing you could ever achieve — and it’s performed very well,” says Wendy Hayhurst, chief executive of the Community Housing Industry Association.
“It’s performed very well because it’s got a government guarantee.”
Demand for NHFIC bonds looks set to grow because Australia will need up to a million community housing homes by 2036, Ms Hayhurst says.
To fund demand, the community housing sector will need to quadruple in size, she says.
“Community Housing Providers are “the most cost-effective way of solving this problem because we don’t need 100 per cent subsidy,” she says. “We can go out and borrow to cover some of the costs of construction using NHFIC.”
That’s a win for community housing providers, Regnan investors and for Kaitlyn and her soon-to-be-born bub.
“I honestly couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful home or easy process to jump start my future,” she says.
Regnan is a responsible investment leader with a long and proud heritage providing advice and insights on important environmental, social and governance issues.
Building on that expertise, Regnan recently expanded into responsible investment funds management, backed by the considerable resources of Pendal Group.
For more information, please contact Head of Regnan and Responsible Investment Distribution Jeremy Dean at jeremy.dean@regnan.com.
This document has been prepared by Pendal Institutional Limited (Pendal) ABN 17 126 390 627, AFSL No 316455 and the information contained within is current as at November 25, 2020. This document is for general information purposes only, should not be considered as a comprehensive statement on any matter and should not be relied upon as such. It has been prepared without taking into account any recipient’s personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, recipients should, before acting on this information, consider its appropriateness having regard to their individual objectives, financial situation and needs. This information is not to be regarded as a securities recommendation. The information in this document may contain material provided by third parties, is given in good faith and has been derived from sources believed to be accurate as at its issue date. While such material is published with necessary permission, and while all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is complete and correct, to the maximum extent permitted by law neither Pendal nor any company in the Pendal Group accepts any responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of this information. Pendal is the responsible entity and issuer of units in the Regnan Credit Impact Trust ARSN: 638 304 220 (the Fund). An Information Memorandum is available for the Fund (IM) and can be obtained by calling 1800 813 886 or visiting www.pendalgroup.com. You should obtain and consider the IM before deciding whether to acquire, continue to hold or dispose of units in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including possible delays in repayment of withdrawal proceeds and loss of income and principal invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
