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2018 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

Investments for Development in Switzerland: A Sub-type of Impact Investing with Strong Growth Dynamics

verfasst von : Julia Meyer, Kelly Hess

Erschienen in: Positive Impact Investing

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Switzerland plays a key role in impact investing with strong involvement of specialized asset managers. Currently we see microfinance being the largest field, due to its early emergence on the market, but other topics (i.e. energy) are rapidly gaining importance. In 2015, experts from Swiss-based institutions active in this area, defined a new subcategory of impact investing: “investments for development”. A market study was carried out to benchmark the current status of this segment in Switzerland and to outline the challenges and opportunities for actors in this segment. Results show that institutions in Switzerland represent one third of the global market of investments for development, with 10 billion USD assets under management. The volume is growing fast with a compound annual growth rate of 18.4% in 2015 and market players expecting similar growth for coming years. The regional spread of the investments over 96 countries shows that these types of investments can be widely applied. Market target returns and the clear intention to improve social, environmental and/or economic conditions within developing economies make investments for development attractive for investors.

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Fußnoten
1
At the conference in Sendai (March, 2015) the first framework for disaster risk reduction was adopted, in Addis Abeba (July, 2015) the international community finalised a framework on “Financing for Development”, New York saw the adoption of the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030 (September, 2015) and lastly, in Paris the decision to limit Climate Change to 1.5°–2° was finally agreed on by all nations (December 2015).
 
2
The UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a sustainable Financial System, established in 2014 by the United Nations Environmental Programme, looks into how the financial system can contribute to a green and sustainable economy.
 
3
The survey was outlined by the SSF workgroup “Investments for Development”, and refined by Kelly Hess (SSF) and three workgroup: Frédéric Berney (BlueOrchard), Julia Meyer (University of Zurich’s Center for Microfinance) and Marina Parashkevova (Symbiotics). Data collection was organized by Symbiotics. Survey guidelines were partially based on the CGAP MIV guidelines and can be found at: http://​www.​sustainablefinan​ce.​ch/​upload/​cms/​user/​20151019_​SSF_​Inv_​for_​Dev_​Survey_​Guidelines.​pdf
 
5
The results of this work are also currently under review for publication within a special issue of the Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment.
 
6
SSF is an association founded in 2014 with the aim to strengthen the position of Switzerland in the global marketplace for sustainable finance by informing, educating and catalysing growth. SSF has representation in Zurich, Geneva and Lugano, and unites over 90 members and network partners from financial service providers, investors, universities and business schools, public sector entities and other interested organisations. More information can be found at www.​sustainablefinan​ce.​ch
 
7
The classification published on the website of the World Bank as of 10.1. 2016 is used to distinguish low-income, (lower and upper) middle-income and high-income countries.
 
8
Figures are collected for December 2014, except for the total AuM, where respondents also indicate the level for September 2015.
 
9
All currencies are converted to USD using the exchange rate for December 2014 and September 2015 respectively, source: www.​oanda.​com
 
10
Assets under advice are not included under total assets under management (AuM) for this study.
 
11
Indirectly invested assets imply a risk of double-counting. However, due to the structure of the respondents, with less than a quarter being asset owners, it is unlikely that a large share of third-party managed assets are also represented within the direct investments of the banks and asset managers. Furthermore, in case indirectly managed assets flow through non-Swiss intermediaries, double-counting is not an issue. It is therefore fair to assume that double-counting is negligible and total investments for development in 2014 amount to USD8.68 billion in Switzerland.
 
12
Two respondents did not provide this information.
 
13
This number is based on estimations by responsAbility Investments and GIIN Impact Base.
 
14
Microfinance was not defined in detail for the purpose of the survey. The distinction between financial services to micro-customers as opposed to SMEs (small and medium enterprises) lacks clarity and probably both types of services are captured in this category.
 
15
This result is driven by the above-mentioned fact that Switzerland is one of the pioneer markets for microfinance. Its leading position in this industry clearly affects the distribution of funds between private debt and private equity, considering that microfinance largely involves investments in private debt.
 
16
Provisioning is the accounting process used when an expense is recognised to reflect critical investments that are expected to (partially) fail. As soon as the failure of an investment is certain, a write-off occurs, where an investment (earning asset) is removed from the books and its book value is written down to zero (Fitch 2000).
 
17
Some of the seven respondents did not provide the regional allocation for their whole portfolio in investments for development.
 
18
Examples of exposures in high-income countries would also include investments in larger institutions with activities in different countries being headquartered in a high-income country.
 
21
IRIS metrics are managed by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) with the intent to measure social, environmental and financial performance (https://​iris.​thegiin.​org/​metrics).
 
22
More information at the product level is available in the report published by Swiss Sustainable Finance and CMF (2016) and the article submitted to the Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment.
 
Literatur
Zurück zum Zitat Economist Intelligence Unit. (2015). Global microscope 2015: The enabling environment for financial inclusion. An index and study by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Economist Intelligence Unit. (2015). Global microscope 2015: The enabling environment for financial inclusion. An index and study by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Zurück zum Zitat Fitch, T. (2000). Dictionary of banking terms (4th ed.). New York: Barron’s Business Guides. Fitch, T. (2000). Dictionary of banking terms (4th ed.). New York: Barron’s Business Guides.
Zurück zum Zitat Forum nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG). (2015). Marktbericht nachhaltige Geldanlagen 2015, Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz. Berlin Mai 2015. Forum nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG). (2015). Marktbericht nachhaltige Geldanlagen 2015, Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz. Berlin Mai 2015.
Zurück zum Zitat Krauss, A., & Meyer, J. (2015). Measuring and aggregating social performance of microfinance investment vehicles (CMF Working Paper Series, No. 03-2015). Krauss, A., & Meyer, J. (2015). Measuring and aggregating social performance of microfinance investment vehicles (CMF Working Paper Series, No. 03-2015).
Zurück zum Zitat Meyer, J., & Hess, K. (2018). Swiss investments for development: Characteristics of a market with strong growth dynamics. In: Wendt, K. (2018 upcoming). Sustainable Financial Innovations (1st ed.) CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group Meyer, J., & Hess, K. (2018). Swiss investments for development: Characteristics of a market with strong growth dynamics. In: Wendt, K. (2018 upcoming). Sustainable Financial Innovations (1st ed.) CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group
Zurück zum Zitat Morgan, J. P. (2015). Eyes on the horizon, the impact investor survey. Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)/Global Social Finance, 4 May 2015. Morgan, J. P. (2015). Eyes on the horizon, the impact investor survey. Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)/Global Social Finance, 4 May 2015.
Zurück zum Zitat Swiss Sustainable Finance & Center for Microfinance. (2016). Swiss investments for a better world – The first market survey on investments for development, Zurich, April 2016. Swiss Sustainable Finance & Center for Microfinance. (2016). Swiss investments for a better world – The first market survey on investments for development, Zurich, April 2016.
Metadaten
Titel
Investments for Development in Switzerland: A Sub-type of Impact Investing with Strong Growth Dynamics
verfasst von
Julia Meyer
Kelly Hess
Copyright-Jahr
2018
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10118-7_9