Funds

Mutual funds for
qualified investors

The Funds Account is designed for qualified private investors or institutional investors wanting to engage in Micro and Small Enterprise Impact finance through mutual funds. The account will provide you with access to a set of online tools and Symbiotics’ expertise to assess, select, and close investment opportunities that will increase your impact in emerging markets.

Contact Us

We will design an advisory mandate tailored on your investment objectives. We will define together your positioning and focus which will bring competitive advantages to your investment strategy. Based on your eligibility criteria, this account will help facilitate your investment step by step through its standardized and proven investment process.

1. Research

  • Desk review
  • Due Diligence

2. Deals

  • Market screening
  • Closing

3. MyPortfolio

  • Monthly factsheet
  • Annual reports

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1. Research

Symbiotics has developed a comprehensive set of reports to analyse and provide adequate due diligence on the legal, operational, financial and social elements of fund managers and investment funds investing in micro and small enterprises in emerging markets. Symbiotics analysts assess and screen the investment universe according to the eligibility criteria and guidelines defined in the investment strategies of our clients. The analysts then submit a questionnaire to the fund manager and write a two to three page desk analysis report, which provides sheer facts, risks factors and future outlook of those fund manager and investment funds that meet the eligibility criteria.

2. Deals

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Following the decision of the pre-investment committee, Symbiotics analysts perform a full financial and social analysis of the fund manager and investment fund, with on-site interviews and credit risk scoring. Through the due diligence and investment selection process, the investment committee seeks to identify solid fund managers and outstanding investment funds to close the best investment opportunities. Symbiotics represents the institutional investor in its negotiation with a given fund manager, and advises him/her accordingly, with both industry and transaction expertise, until all terms and conditions are finalized. The team is then in charge of the closing, clearing all obligations and required precedents.

3. MyPortfolio

Syminvest provides a centralised platform for your portfolio monitoring and risk management. Symbiotics’ investment analysts collect monthly key indicators on each investment fund and review on a monthly basis the data, ratios and graphs which are produced from this information and update its monthly qualitative watch list. The team performs monthly monitoring of the funds and transaction risk assessments.

DUAL RETURN FUND - Vision Microfinance

Corporate Profile

Absolute Portfolio Management (APM) is a leading independent asset management company in the German speaking region which is specialized in asset allocation, analysis and management of alternative investments.

Microfinance Funds

Dual Return Fund - Vision Microfinance. The mission of the Vision Microfinance Fund is to offer exposure to investors interested in microfinance. The fund has a double bottom line strategy, on the one hand maximizing its risk return profile for the benefit of the investor, and on the other hand maximizing the social outreach in breadth and depth to micro, small and medium enterprises in emerging and least developed economies.

Dual Return Fund - Vision Microfinance Local Currency. The fund invests mostly in fixed-income investments in local currency, usually in the form of direct loans to microfinance institutions. The fund offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of currencies of selected developing and emerging countries with the opportunities to currency exchange gains.

Key IndicatorsDecember 2012
Total Assets93.7M EUR
Net Asset Value93.5M EUR
Microfinance Portfolio78.4M EUR
Number of Countries24
Investees66
Investments93
Micro-entrepreneurs clients87’716
Social Outreach3 stars

IC Fund - Asia Women Microfinance

Mission / Strategy

The IC Fund Asia Women Microfinance is a Luxembourg SICAV-SIF promoted by Independent Capital Management AG in Zurich. It targets mostly qualified private and institutional investors. Its niche strategy is to democratize the access to capital to micro, small and medium enterprises, with a broad and multi-sector definition including impact investment themes, primarily owned by women and primarily in Asia through the debt refinancing of financial institutions targeting such market segments.

Fund Snapshot

NameIC Fund Asia Women Microfinance
IncorporationLuxembourg
DateJuly 2010
Legal StatusSICAV – Part II
TermOpen-ended
SponsorIndependent Capital Management AG
Asset ManagerSymbiotics SA
Key IndicatorsDecember 2012
Total Assets6.4M USD
Net Asset Value6.3M USD
Microfinance Portfolio5.8M USD
Number of Countries11
Investees15
Investments15
Micro-entrepreneurs clients10’812
Social Outreach2 stars

EMF - Microfinance Fund AGmvK

Mission / Strategy

With EMF Microfinance Fund AGmvK, Enabling Microfinance AG has developed a product with a twofold attraction for social investors. First, the fund only invests in first-class microfinance institutions, thereby generating important impulses for the microfinance market. Second, a portion of the investment fees is used to enhance the professionalization of other microfinance institutions. The goal is to sustain the investment options of the fund for the long term.

Fund Snapshot

NameEMF Microfinance Fund AGmvK
IncorporationLiechtenstein
DateOctober 2008
Legal StatusInvestment Company with Variable Capital
TermOpen-ended
SponsorEnabling Microfinance AG
Management companyLLB Fund Services AG
Key IndicatorsDecember 2012
Total Assets48.3M USD
Net Asset Value48.1M USD
Microfinance Portfolio46.7M USD
Number of Countries21
Investees40
Investments50
Micro-entrepreneurs clients40’212
Social Outreach3 stars

FINETHIC - Finethic S.C.A., SICAV-SIF, Sub-Fund I Microfinance

Mission

Finethic Microfinance invests in microfinance institutions (MFIs). Investments are either direct or indirect. Direct investments are devoted to debt financing, chiefly through promissory notes or bonds issued by MFIs. Indirect investments are executed through various investment vehicles dedicated to microfinance, for instance funding vehicles like collaterized debt obligations (CDOs) or shares of funds specialized in microfinance. Special consideration is applied to the selection of investments and the solvency of loan recipients.

Fund Snapshot

NameFinethic S.C.A., SICAV-SIF, Sub-Fund I Microfinance
IncorporationLuxembourg
DateAugust 2006
Legal StatusSICAV-SIF
TermOpen-ended
Asset ManagerFundo SA
AdviserSymbiotics SA
Key IndicatorsDecember 2012
Net Asset Value109.6M USD
Number of Countries27
Investees78
Investments104
Micro-entrepreneurs clients75’509
Social Outreach3 stars

REGMIFA - Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa

Corporate Profile

  • Initiated by the G8 in 2007 and established by Development Finance Institutions, International Financial Institutions and public Donors.
  • The Fund is structured as a public-private partnership, which leverages public funds as a risk cushion to attract private investors to Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Symbiotics SA is in charge of the Fund’s management as both Investment Manager and Technical Assistance Facility Manager.

  
Key IndicatorsDecember 2012
Total Assets 87.9M USD
Microfinance Portfolio 73.5M USD
Number of Countries 12
Investees 27
Investments 55
Micro-entrepreneurs clients 156’131
Social Outreach 3 stars

Mission and Principles

  • To foster economic development, employment creation and poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa through innovative financial products and technical assistance support to eligible Partner Lending Institutions serving micro, small and medium businesses (MSMEs).
  • Removing the obstacles to African MSMEs to access financial services and unlocking the potential of local capital markets
  • Combining public mandate and market orientation on the base of sustainability and additionality.
 
 
 
 
  

Technical Assistance

  • A Technical Assistance Facility is established in parallel to the Fund and financed by leading international donor agencies. The Facility’s activities are targeted in scope, directly supporting the investment portfolio of the Fund, and complementary to other initiatives.

WALLBERG - Global Microfinance Fund FCP II

Mission

The objective of the Fund's investment policy is to provide poor, economically active sections of the population in developing countries and emerging markets with access to the financial and credit markets and to enable both institutional and private Investors to earn reasonable returns in the Fund Currency by investing in a diversified range of assets from the microfinance sector that includes a high-yield component. These investments are made either directly or indirectly after careful assessment of the microfinance institutions (MFIs) concerned.

Fund Snapshot

NameWallberg Global Microfinance Fund
IncorporationLuxembourg
DateOctober 2008
Legal StatusFCP - Part II
TermOpen-ended
Asset ManagerWallberg Invest S.A
AdviserSymbiotics SA
Key IndicatorsDecember 2012
Total Assets22.6M EUR
Net Asset Value22.6M EUR
Microfinance Portfolio18.4M EUR
Number of Countries16
Investees31
Investments36
Micro-entrepreneurs clients17’887
Social Outreach2 stars

Research Analysis Tools

The fund indexes, institution benchmarks and other market information displayed here are all Symbiotics designed analysis tools, created in-house by our analysts and experts. Symbiotics has one of the oldest track records in microfinance investment analysis dating back to the late 1990s; its indexes and benchmarks have been regularly used as markers by investors, asset managers, financial institutions and practitioners. These, as well as several other research products, are available through the Research Account. Click on the link below to find out more.

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