Apex Group on Tuesday said it has been appointed by BrightEdge LLC, the impact investment and venture capital arm of the American Cancer Society, to support the ACS Impact Venture Fund with fund administration services.
The fund has a net asset value of 77 million dollars and is expected to reach 100 million-mark next year, fueled by “investment donations” and fund returns. Through BrightEdge, the fund invests in for-profit early-stage companies that are developing innovative cancer-focused therapies, diagnostics, devices, and technologies to give all people the opportunity to detect, treat and survive cancer.
The society created BrightEdge in 2019. Financial returns generated from investments will be reinvested or returned to the cancer society as a “diversified and sustainable source of funding” for the society’s mission of reducing cancer mortality, ending pain and suffering, and advancing health equity.
Driving positive change
“With asset allocation to impact investing set to double between 2019 and 2025, the private markets have an important - and growing - role to play in driving positive change,” said Apex Group CEO Peter Hughes. “We’re seeing an increasing number of institutions deploying these tried-and-true venture capital and private equity strategies to achieve measurable impact through mission-driven investments that also generate a financial return.”
Apex Group has been awarded a mandate from BrightEdge to provide fund administration services that will free up resources to focus on deploying capital and generating returns in support of the fund’s impact objectives. Apex Group said it has pledged “a substantial percentage” of the fee revenue received from its role as fund administrator for BrightEdge and the Fund, as an ongoing donation to the society.
“We are pleased to be working in partnership with Apex Group, which offers the scale and depth of services to evolve with BrightEdge and support our sustainable growth in furtherance of ACS’s mission,” said Alice L. Pomponio, managing director at BrightEdge. “The close alignment of our impact visions is reflected in the generous decision to contribute a substantial proportion of fees to the ACS, for which we’d like to thank Peter and the team.”
Improve health equity
“We are excited to be able to be innovation partners with BrightEdge, supporting leading and new fund structures including the pursuit of impact investing to improve health equity and reduce the disparity of health outcomes,” said Georges Archibald, chief innovation Officer and managing director Americas at Apex Group.
This announcement is the latest in a series of commitments by Apex Group to drive positive change in the communities in which it operates, including the creation of the Apex Foundation, a not-for-profit entity set up by the firm to support charitable initiatives and projects that empower positive change.
Apex Group recently launched an Impact Positive Solution providing the most comprehensive impact assessment services for the private markets – enabling investors and companies to demonstrate meaningful and measurable positive impacts with integrity, and provision of its single-source solution on a pro bono basis to the innovative philanthropic investment platform, Greater Share.