Nuveen raises $785M for green C-PACE fund targeting insurers - InforCapital

Global asset manager Nuveen and its affiliate Nuveen Green Capital (NGC) have secured $785 million in new capital commitments for their C-PACE Lending Fund III. The fund provides institutional investors, especially insurers, with access to investment-grade, climate-focused private credit solutions.

The strategy is centered around Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing—an innovative public-private funding model that enables commercial property owners to make long-term, low-cost energy efficiency and resiliency improvements. C-PACE programs operate across the United States and have been adopted in numerous states to stimulate clean infrastructure investment.

Since inception, Nuveen’s total AUM across all C-PACE strategies has exceeded $6 billion, making it one of the largest players in this niche yet rapidly growing space. The latest fund will support projects improving energy efficiency, water conservation, and climate adaptability in real estate portfolios across urban hubs like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Joseph Pursley, Head of Insurance for the Americas at Nuveen, emphasized the alignment between insurer needs and green investment objectives: “Our C-PACE strategies provide a rare blend of capital efficiency, long-duration returns, and impact alignment, which insurers increasingly prioritize.”

Co-founder and CIO of NGC, Alexandra Cooley, noted that the fund strengthens the firm’s ability to offer direct financing options for commercial buildings. The platform’s vertical integration enables proprietary deal sourcing with established sponsors, adding value for both investors and real estate owners.

Nuveen’s recent research shows that 93% of global insurance investors factor in environmental and social impact when making allocation decisions. This growing trend has fueled demand for securitized and scalable sustainable credit, and NGC has led over $3 billion in securitizations and private fund placements since 2017.

In 2024 alone, NGC-financed projects helped reduce carbon emissions equivalent to 407,000 acres of forest, saved over 461 million gallons of water, and supported the development of more than 2,100 new housing units—demonstrating tangible environmental and social returns.

Nuveen joins a broader wave of asset managers, including Brookfield, BlackRock, and Ares Management, who are also scaling private impact credit strategies. In Q2 2025, Brookfield raised $1.1 billion for a climate infrastructure debt fund, while BlackRock launched a real estate decarbonization credit strategy for North America and Europe.

As insurance portfolios continue shifting toward long-dated, ESG-aligned fixed income assets, C-PACE financing is becoming an increasingly central pillar of sustainable credit investing.