Under its newly established and broader impact investing mandate, Meritas SRI Funds announced it has made an investment in InvestEco Sustainable Food Fund II.

Managed by Toronto-based investment firm, InvestEco Capital, the InvestEco Sustainable Food Fund II targets investments in expansion-stage, high growth companies across North America that foster sustainability in the agricultural and food sectors.

Launched in 2002, InvestEco has invested in eighteen privately held companies including Vital Farms, Organic Meadow, Maple Hill Creamery, and 100km Foods. Companies included in the InvestEco portfolio typically have between one million and $30 million in revenues at the point of initial commitment, with InvestEco usually holding their investment position for about seven years, according to the firm’s website.

“Our investment in InvestEco meets this investment criteria by helping to support sustainable farming that is focused on growing and raising food that is healthy for consumers, promotes animal welfare and helps to protect the environment,” said Fred Pinto, CEO of OceanRock, manager of Mertias SRI Funds. “It’s also a high impact way to support family farms that continue to play a critical role in the global food industry.”
As one of Canada’s fastest-growing investment managers with $1.6 billion, OceanRock has expanded its investment criteria to include a deeper commitment to impact investment opportunities both domestically in Canada and in foreign markets.

“We are excited to have Meritas SRI Funds as an investor in our Fund,” said Andrew Heintzman, CEO and co-founder of InvestEco Capital Corp. “We share a similar goal of generating strong financial returns for investors, while at the same time investing in companies that promote health and sustainability of the food and agricultural sector.”

This commitment by Meritas SRI Funds follows an undisclosed significant investment in the InvestEco Sustainable Food Fund II this past July by The Co-operators – a Canadian co-operative with more than $40 billion in assets under management.

“We are committed to impact investing because we believe that our invested assets can and should not only help us meet our organization’s financial targets, but also our goal of making communities healthier and more sustainable for future generations,” said Bruce West, executive vice-president, finance and chief financial officer at The Co-operators in July.

“We hope that our investment in the InvestEco Sustainable Food Fund II will serve this dual purpose of achieving financial as well as social and environmental returns.”

~Lynda Kiernan