Firm raises conservation-focused fund

Ecosystem Investment Partners has raised $180m to invest in wetlands restoration, a niche strategy that combines conservation with mid-teen return expectations.

Most limited partners probably would not associate private equity with the restoration of rapidly disappearing swampland in the backwoods of southern Louisiana. But one firm has taken on that job – and plans to invest in the land through a private equity fund.

Ecosystem Investment Partners, based in Baltimore, Maryland, has closed its second fund on $180.7