Global , October, 05 2016 - Symbiotics, a Switzerland-based for-profit investment intermediary, and United Bank of Switzerland (UBS) recently raised USD 50 million for their newly launched SME Finance – Loans for Growth Fund, which will provide credit to financial institutions focused on lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in “frontier and emerging markets.”

The fund, which is fully-subscribed and has a 4-year lifetime, will offer investors 10-percent “first-loss risk protection” co-financed equally by UBS and the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs, a government agency that oversees the country’s economic and trade policy. As part of its management responsibilities, Symbiotics will produce an annual report for the fund, tracking both financial return and measurable social outcomes.

As of 2016, Symbiotics manages a portfolio of approximately USD 1.3 billion assets through 20 different investment funds. As of December 31, 2015, UBS reported total assets of CHF 943 billion (USD 962 billion), return on equity of 11.8 percent and return on assets of 3.1 percent.