Toronto-based fund-of-funds Realize Capital Partners has committed $32.5 million to seven fund managers through Realize Fund I as part of the federal government-backed Social Finance Fund (SFF).
The recipients include Amplify Capital, Area One Farms, Flowing River Capital Partners, Heartwood Trust, Misfit Ventures, Regenerative Capital Group, and Thrive Impact Fund.
Realize has committed to 16 investments with a value of $67.7 million this year.
Realize—a joint venture between Toronto impact investment management and advisory organization Rally Assets and early-stage venture capital firm Relay Ventures— is one of three fund-of-fund managers chosen by the Government of Canada to deploy the SFF.
The SFF is a long-term, $755-million federal initiative aimed at growing Canada’s social finance market. First announced in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement and launched in mid-2023, SFF is being distributed by Realize, Toronto’s Boann Social Impact, and Montréal’s CAP Finance.
Many of Realize’s supported funds, such as Amplify, Area One, and Thrive, are women-led, while some are first-time fund managers. As part of SFF, the supported funds have a focus on impacting various social and environmental issues.
For example, recipient Flowing River Capital Partners is a majority Indigenous-owned firm looking to spur economic reconciliation through mostly Prairie-based investments, while Misfit Ventures was founded and is led by members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community looking to invest in ventures led by those who identify as part of the community.
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“As we build out the portfolio, it is demonstrating that it’s possible to secure risk-adjusted returns alongside strong positive impact,” Realize Fund I portfolio manager Lars Boggild said in a statement. “These new investments bring the portfolio differentiated investment strategies in real assets and real estate as well as more private equity strategies, maintaining focus on financial return goals as well as impact performance goals.”
Realize Fund I has committed to 16 investments with a value of $67.7 million this year. Realize revealed its first investment of $35.2 million CAD across nine direct investors in January.
Between 2022 and 2026, Realize is set to receive over $153 million in SFF funding. The firm aims to raise at least two dollars in private investment capital for each dollar of federal support and to help achieve this, Realize has set a target of $405 million for its first fund.
Boann Social Impact exclusively revealed its first investments supported by SFF to BetaKit this past August, having committed nearly $51 million across 13 impact funds and one undisclosed direct investment.
Feature image courtesy Amplify Capital.
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