Investing in a future where young people can thrive
An investment held across Future Super’s sustainable investment options is showing how the social and financial case for sustainable investing can come together.
Around one in three young people [1] discharged from out-of-home care in Australia experience homelessness within their first year. Safe housing, supportive networks and opportunities for work or study can be much harder to access, just as they’re beginning living independently.
For Leo*, having a stable home helped create a pathway forward.
Leo grew up in out-of-home care and experienced more than 32 placement breakdowns before entering Melbourne City Mission’s Youth Housing Initiative at age 20. He had stayed in refuges and experienced further disruption before being referred to the program. Each disruption reinforced a belief that stability was simply not meant for people like him.
At first, Leo moved into the Initiative’s congregate accommodation at G Street, where he had his own space and consistent support from MCM staff. Over time, he began to build trust, express his needs and take pride in small personal achievements.
After nine months, Leo felt ready to take the next step.
With support from his key worker, he worked on daily living skills, financial literacy, routines and the practical responsibilities of maintaining a home. Nine months after entering the program, Leo moved into his own townhouse in Point Cook.
He began exploring apprenticeships in mechanics and roof tiling, and reconnecting with family members he had lost contact with. Today, Leo is building confidence, exploring work opportunities and rebuilding family connections.
“I never thought I’d have my own place,” Leo says. “I never thought I’d be spending Christmas with my family.”
*Leo’s name has been changed to protect his privacy.
The investment behind Leo’s story
Leo’s journey is connected to an investment held across sustainable investment options: the Conscious Investment Management Impact Fund..
In 2023, CIM partnered with Melbourne City Mission and its community housing provider, MCM Housing, to acquire 10 shared accommodation dwellings and help establish the Youth Housing Initiative in Melbourne.
The five-year pilot combines stable housing with consistent, person-centred support for young people facing homelessness.
The investment is one part of the diversified Conscious Investment Management Impact Fund. Deputy Chief Investment Officer for Future Super, David Allen, explains: "The CIM Impact Fund is diversified across several types of impact investment. The majority of the Fund’s investments, around 74%, are housing-related, comprising social and affordable housing and Specialist Disability Accommodation [2]. The remainder is invested across natural capital, renewable energy and social impact bonds”
It’s an impact investment: designed to generate a measurable social or environmental outcome alongside financial returns. When selecting impact investments, the investment team behind Future Super looks for opportunities that meet the Fund’s investment objectives and have a robust impact management approach that delivers meaningful social or environmental outcomes. Here, the intended outcome includes improving access to stable housing and support for young people experiencing housing insecurity.
That doesn’t mean every young person will have the same experience as Leo, but his story shows what this investment is seeking to help make possible.
Where housing fits in sustainable investing
For Future Super, sustainable investing means looking at the long-term risks and opportunities that can affect members’ retirement savings, including the environmental, social and economic conditions shaping the world around us.
A secure home can support someone’s health, employment, education, relationships and ability to participate in their community. At a larger scale, accessible and high-quality social infrastructure can contribute to more resilient communities and economies.
But a worthwhile social outcome on its own isn’t enough. An investment also needs to make financial sense for members’ retirement savings.
David explains how the two can come together: “The use of the social and affordable housing program by MCM Housing for their youth program is a wonderful example of the long-term impact these investments can have for individuals, and together, for our communities,” he says.
“For investors such as Future Super, we can bridge the gap between all the things the government wants to do to help society, and the limited budgets and pools of capital it has available. We’re able to invest members’ money and seek a financial return on it from various payments made, including by the government, over the life of the projects.”
“The CIM Impact Fund invests in several different strategies,” he says, “each providing capital to support the acquisition of an assetthat is inherently beneficial like social housing or renewable energy, and being paid for that investment over time. Often, these payments are pre-agreed for a long period of time with very large buyers like the government or businesses.
“These buyers recognise the benefit of avoiding substantial upfront costs and are happy to include a decent financial return on the investment capital as part of the payments.”
For any investment to be eligible for inclusion in a Future Super investment option, the investment team must determine that it aligns with the relevant option’s investment objectives.
“We first need to understand the market opportunity an investment strategy is intended to capture, how it is expected to create value, and why that value is likely to be sustainable. We then assess whether managers have the skills, experience and organisational resilience to implement the strategy consistently over time.”
Sustainable investing you can see
Across the multiple funds it manages, CIM has committed financing for 595 social and affordable housing dwellings, expected to provide housing to approximately 1,000 people [3]. CIM’s Victorian social and affordable housing investment alongside HousingFirst under the new Rental Development Program provided financing for 260 dwellings across 18 buildings, which currently provide housing to more than 400 people.
These figures relate to CIM’s broader investment activity, rather than Future Super’s exposure alone. CIM’s investment strategies and reported outcomes help demonstrate what Future Super’s sustainable investment approach can look like in practice.
Impact investments make up only one part of your super's investments. Not every investment in the Fund is an impact investment, but all of Future Super’s options use research, screening, stewardship and other tools to identify and manage financially material sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
Investments like this can make sustainable investing tangible. Members’ retirement savings are invested with the aim of delivering financial outcomes over the long term. Some of the underlying investments can also help finance the infrastructure and services communities need, contributing to the long-term stability and resilience of social systems that the economy depends on.
CIM Impact Fund is one example of what sustainable investing can look like when the financial case and real-world outcomes work alongside each other.
For Leo, that meant something solid: a stable place to live, the support to begin building independence, and the chance to imagine a future that once felt out of reach.
Youth housing investment FAQs
Why are young people leaving care at greater risk of homelessness?
Young people leaving out-of-home care can face several barriers to finding and keeping a stable home, including low incomes, limited rental histories and the challenge of developing independent-living skills without the support networks many other young people rely on. Australian research has found that around 30% experience homelessness within their first year after leaving care. Stable housing combined with ongoing support can help make the transition to independence more sustainable. (Source: AIHW)
What support do young people need alongside stable housing?
A home can provide an important foundation, but housing alone may not address all the challenges young people experience when moving towards independence. Programs such as Melbourne City Mission’s Youth Housing Initiative combine stable accommodation with support including living skills, education and employment, community connections, case management and therapeutic support. This broader approach is designed to help young people build the skills and support networks they need to maintain independence over time. (Source: CIM)
Related content:
See Sustainable Investing for information about screening and investment processes, and what we mean by fossil fuel companies. Investments may be held directly, or indirectly through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and other managed investment vehicles.
Investments may be held directly, or indirectly through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and other managed investment vehicles.