ICM operates by allocating capital trying to solve the issues within Southeast Asian, starting with Indonesian. ICM does operate and follow UN Sustainable Development Goals BUT we do not use the "jigsaw puzzle" approach to our investments. Jigsaw puzzle approach means taking the 17 points of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and starting to match them, similar to a five-year-old playing with a Cinderella jigsaw puzzle. Our investment process usually starts by identifying an issue among our society. Then we use our knowledge and experience to tackle the issue. Once we are done formulating our strategy and underwrite the social benefits, we are certain that our investments will fall within the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Potential investors also need to be careful when selecting private equity or venture capital managers who portrays that they are green and sustainable. ICM has seen coal companies or coal/mining-heavy private equity firm post UN Sustainable Development Goals on their websites, run ESG reports and try to portray themselves as green to investors while holding dirty or grey assets on their balance sheets and generates most of their profit from these dirty and grey assets. We also see cigarette companies running ESG reports. To be fair, the "sin" industries do try to improve their practises. On the other hand, ICM also sees "Me Too" local fund managers or even firms in Indonesia trying to capitalize on the sustainability trend but messing up project selections. This action could lead to potential failures in project execution. All of these claims on sustainability are made mainly because ESG and sustainability are hot topics today and consumers require them.
We would like to inform our investors that ICM is HONESTLY GREEN and understands sustainability investment. ICM will never invest in coal, fossil fuel, virgin plastics, high yield finance, etc. In terms of experience, ICM has been investigating a couple of our investments for over 5 years; one of them for more than a decade. So ICM has done its share of homework, and paid its dues in learning about ESG and sustainability. On the execution side, many of our project owners and managers also have decades of successful experience working in their respective industries.
There are investments that ICM cannot and will not tackle because of low returns, but ICM always looks for alternative solutions. There are many ESG investment opportunities with subpar ROE like 5% and low IRR which ICM will avoid. BUT there are also alternative ESG opportunities with IRR above 23% which ICM could tackle. Two projects with different profitability profiles can sometimes be found in similar industries. So needless to say, ICM will be attracted to the more profitable one.
Understanding the dynamics of an industry or business is important. ICM actually spends a lot of time trying its best to understand an industry. A good understanding of the industry will enable us to create solutions that can help stakeholders, manage risks and formulate investment opportunities generate at least 23% IRR for investors.
-
Ideas Capital Management (ICM) is an upcoming private equity firm focusing on ESG investments in Southeast Asia, starting with Indonesia. ICM excels in its ability to source and structure sustainable ESG projects with lucrative profitability levels (IRR>23%). Unlike those wanting to capitalize on sustainability because it is the current "Hot Topic," ICM has been studying ESG investment for years and is highly knowledgeable. ICM is confident that using its experience and knowledge, it can source, formulate and execute highly profitable ESG investment opportunities for its investors, while helping the communities.
If ICM feels it cannot fully understand an industry based on its current internal team capability, we will then seek outside help before making an investment or hiring a new team member to build up our skill. Kindly note, ICM does not purely rely on consultants and we prefer to build internal competency. Consultants are there to guide us (or are a necessity for the investment process) but the final decision still rests with the ICM's investment team.
From ICM's stand points, every investment is unique. Our strategy is proprietary formulated based on our understanding of the industry. Every solution ICM provides will be tailormade for the emerging countries in Southeast Asia; hopefully eventually to other less developed countries. Finally, every execution will be driven for the benefit of the communities and investors.
The area where ICM shines is how can we solve the issues in Southeast Asia, improve the living standard of communities while generating the attractive 23% IRR to our investors.
Finally, ICM realizes we still need to show our investors "THE MONEY" while helping the people. High returns equate to more money for us to manage, more projects for us to tackle, and more people being helped. In all honesty, balancing return and ESG responsibility is actually not an easy task. However, ICM is stepping to the challenge; banking on its experience/knowledge on ESG, creativity, execution ability and its compassion to the people. In this first fund, ICM is certain that it can source, formulate, execute and scale highly profitable projects for our investors; and hopefully for the next couple of future funds.
