Swiss impact specialist responsAbility Investments has been selected as the portfolio manager of the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) from March 1, 2023, until the end of 2027.
responsAbility will lead investment sourcing, advisory, and oversight of SIFEM’s portfolio.
The mandate comes with an option of a 5-year extension, it said in a statement.
The outgoing fund manager, Obviam AG, continues to act as portfolio manager from now until the end of next month before handing over the mandate.
Since its inception in 2011, SIFEM has invested approximately $1.2 billion across private equity funds and financial institutions in emerging markets.
responsAbility, founded in 2003, has invested over $13 billion of impact capital in emerging markets across three investment themes – climate finance, financial inclusion, and sustainable food.
In December 2021, the firm increased its climate fund size to $756 million to address the world’s net zero targets by 2050. It is also targeting to raise $200 million for a food systems fund. Last July, responsAbility received a $146-million commitment from the US International Development Finance Corporation for its financial inclusion and gender equality strategy.
responsAbility currently manages $3.6 billion in assets across 280 portfolio companies in 75 countries. Its most recent investments include Vietnam-based Vinfast’s EV infrastructure, solar developers Norsk Solar Vietnam and Athena Energy Holdings, Indian water solutions company Rean WaterTech, insurtech business RenewBuy, and energy firm GreenYellow (Thailand) Co., among others.
In May last year, European savings and investments group M&G completed the full acquisition of the Switzerland-based impact asset manager.
“We aim to contribute to further growth of the SIFEM portfolio and maximize the potential impact to meet the mandate’s objectives and contribute towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Rochus Mommartz, CEO of responsAbility, said in the firm’s latest statement.
SIFEM has invested in fund managers in Asia such as Emerging Markets Investment Advisers, Navis Capital Partners, Excelsior Capital Vietnam Partners, Navegar, Apis Partners, Capsquare Asia Partners and Aavishkaar Capital.