Investment company Impax asset management has added institutional share class to its Impax Environment Leaders Fund (IEL).

IEL, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas – one of the world's largest banks – was launched earlier this year and set up by the investment vehicle to provide long-term capital growth and income by investing in companies developing products and services that deal with environmental problems.

The benefit of the recent addition will allow institutional investors to benefit from long-term secular growth in the environment sector by investing in both purely environmental businesses and larger, diversified companies with leading environmental divisions.

Ian Simm, CEO at Impax, said: "The new share class has been launched to provide another channel for institutional investors to build their exposure to the environmental sector. In the past few years we have seen an overwhelming increase in investor interest in companies developing environmental technologies and products, which continue to offer excellent growth prospects."

IEL invests in any global company that is quoted on a recognised stock exchange which derives at least 20 per cent of its revenues/profits, or invests 20 per cent of its capital, in the environment sector.

The three sub sectors in which the fund primarily invests are:

• Alternative energy and energy efficiency
• Water treatment and pollution control
• Waste technologies and resource management