MONTRÉAL, April 13, 2026 /CNW/ - Fondaction Asset Management (FAM) and Triodos Investment Management (Triodos IM) are launching Value Nature Fund I, a closed-end natural capital fund, with a target size of €300 million, that will focus on transitioning farmland and forests to regenerative, closer-to-nature practices across North America and Europe. Fondaction, a Quebec-based labour-sponsored fund managing more than CAD $4.25 billion in assets with a 30-year sustainable finance mandate, has committed up to CAD $25 million as one of the fund's founding investors.

The natural capital opportunity

In today's turbulent world, investing in natural real assets provides an unmatched opportunity for investors to achieve multiple objectives at once: create value from the transition towards sustainable food and timber supply chains, hedge their portfolios against volatility and inflationary pressures, enhance resilience of critical economic sectors and meet their climate and biodiversity allocation objectives.

Investors for Purpose reports that 65% of asset owners are now incorporating nature and biodiversity into their sustainability strategies and that around US$200 billion globally is directed towards the protection, restoration and sustainable management of nature¹. Yet investments towards natural capital fall short of reaching the estimated US$700 billion in investments required to reverse biodiversity loss and restore nature.

Two investment managers, impact as a structural commitment

Value Nature Fund I brings together FAM's expertise in impact-driven investments in North American environmental markets and natural capital sectors, with Triodos IM's deep track record in impact investing in European sustainable food and agriculture systems. The fund will invest in regenerative agriculture and closer-to-nature forestry across Europe, Canada and the United States, targeting full conversion of all portfolio assets to these sustainable practices.

FAM and Triodos IM structured a dual-sector, dual-continent approach that can deliver returns driven by multiple uncorrelated value drivers - different cropping and forest management systems, consumer markets, climates, and regulatory environments - reducing volatility and exposing investors to diversified, untapped opportunities.

Value Nature Fund I intends to classify as a Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) Article 9 investment vehicle and is committed to delivering measurable impact KPIs across three pillars: biodiversity and ecosystem services, climate mitigation and adaptation, and social wellbeing. Accordingly, part of the manager's performance-based remuneration will be directly linked to the achievement of these impact targets.

Quotes

"Natural capital represents a structural response to ecosystem degradation, helping institutional investors address financial risks that can no longer be overlooked. Our commitment to Value Nature Fund I reflects our conviction that patient, well-structured capital can drive meaningful system change, and that Canadian institutional investors have both the responsibility and the opportunity to lead that transition." — Jonathan Coupland, Portfolio Manager, Fondaction

"Fondaction's commitment as a founding investor is a powerful validation of the natural capital thesis we have been building for years. Institutional capital has a critical role to play in transitioning the farms and forests that feed and sustain us, and Value Nature Fund I is designed precisely for that purpose. We are proud to launch this strategy alongside Triodos Investment Management, and to do so with the backing of one of Canada's most committed responsible investors." — Philippe Crête, Managing Director, Natural Capital, FAM

"Value Nature Fund I reflects the shared ambition between Triodos Investment Management and Fondaction Asset Management to mobilise institutional capital at scale for the transition of farmland and forests to regenerative, closer-to-nature practices. By combining our complementary expertise, this fund can provide investors a diversified way to build resilient, real-asset value while making measurable progress on biodiversity, climate and social outcomes." — Karel Nierop, Head of Products and Solutions, Triodos IM.

For more information

Institutional investors are invited to visit www.valuenaturefund.com.

About FAM

Fondaction Asset Management (FAM) is an impact-driven manager that creates and delivers innovative, high-performance financial solutions to solve major environmental and social issues, generating competitive returns.

As a subsidiary of Fondaction, a labor-sponsored fund from Montréal, Québec, Canada, FAM channels large-scale capital into high-potential impact sectors, accelerating the sustainable transformation of the economy. FAM currently manages fund platforms in areas such as energy transition, natural capital protection, environmental markets, and the circular economy.

For more information, please visit fondactionassetmanagement.ca or follow us on LinkedIn.

About Triodos IM

For over 30 years, Triodos Investment Management has been connecting investors who want to put their money towards lasting, positive change with innovative entrepreneurs and sustainable companies that are doing just that. In this way, we act as a catalyst in those sectors that play a key role in the transition to a fairer, more sustainable and more humane world.

Our investment activities focus on five interconnected transition themes: Food, Resource, Energy, Societal and Wellbeing. Our mission as a financial player is to enable and accelerate these essential transitions.

Triodos Investment Management operates globally as an impact investor and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triodos Bank NV. Assets under management per 31 December 2025: EUR 5.5 billion.

About Fondaction

A forerunner for almost 30 years, Fondaction is the investment fund for individuals and companies that are mobilizing for the positive transformation of Québec's economy, making it fairer, more inclusive, greener and more performant. As a labour-sponsored fund created at the initiative of the CSN, Fondaction represents tens of thousands of savers and hundreds of companies committed to helping Québec progress. It manages more than CAD $4.25 billion in net assets, as at November 30, 2025, invested largely in hundreds of businesses and on the financial markets, prioritizing investments that generate positive economic, social and environmental spinoffs in addition to a financial return. Fondaction helps maintain and create jobs, reduce inequalities and combat climate change. For more information, visit fondaction.com or our LinkedIn page.

Notes to Editors

¹ "Integrating Nature and Biodiversity into Investment: An Asset Owner Perspective," Pensions for Purpose, January 27, 2025. Available at: https://www.investorsforpurpose.com/knowledge-centre/press/2025/01/27/Integrating-nature-and-biodiversity-into-investment-an-asset-owner-perspective-press-release/#:~:text=London%2C%20UK%20%E2%80%93%2027%20January%202025%3A%20An%20unprecedented,by%20the%20First%20Sentier%20MUFG%20Sustainable%20Investment%20Institute.

"Biodiversity & Natural Capital: where pension funds are and what comes next?'" Pension for Purpose, February 23, 2026. Available at: https://www.investorsforpurpose.com/knowledge-centre/press/2026/02/23/UK-pension-funds-are-putting-money-into-nature-targeting-returns-of-up-to-20-press-release/

SOURCE Fondaction Asset Management