How Impax Environmental Markets invests in companies that can help the planet - and made a 311% return in a decade

Impax Environmental Markets has spent two decades scouring the world for companies that can help deal with the challenges the planet faces. Long before the recent trend for green investing and ESG funds emerged, its managers were earning their spurs by tracking down disruptive companies with a difference. And this has proved to be a highly profitable strategy for the investment trust's long-term investors, with a total return of 75 per cent over five years and 311 per cent over ten years, according to Association of Investment Company figures.  Yet, Impax has not been immune from the storm for growth stocks and is down 5.9 per cent over the past year, with shares falling to a 5.19 per cent discount to net asset value.  But what are environmental markets and what does Impax look for in a company? On this episode of the Investing Show, Impax Environmental Markets' senior portfolio manager Jon Forster joins Simon Lambert and Richard Hunter to explain more. He also reveals some of the fascinating things that the companies Impax invests in do, from the UK company helping industrial users make better use of steam, to firms helping reduce the impact of agriculture while improving its yields.

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Welcome to This is Money's podcast, The Investing Show, where we invite fund managers to explain how they invest and tell us about the companies and parts of the world that they think will deliver the best returns - to help you learn from their successes.