The Impact Investment department manages Microfinanza 1, the biggest italian fund of funds focused on microfinance industry at a global level. The Fund invests directly and indirectly (via third parties vehicles) in debt and equity securities issued by banks and other financial institution aiming to achieve both growth and return leveraging real economic growth in emerging and frontier markets. The aim of investing in this industry is to obtain both a positive reputational return and a financial return for LPs – lowly correlated with traditional financial market risk factor and even benefiting of a positive impact from increasing interest rates, supporting the development of the fastest growing economies globally.

As of December 2014, Microfinanza 1 held one bond direct investment and 8 investments in funds whose core business is to invest into debt and equity securities issued by financial institutions operating in microfinance and small and medium enterprise lending at a global level.

During the year, the management team of Microfinanza 1 made new investments reaching an overall committed capital equal to 82% of its capitalization. The Fund achieved a return on portfolio of 6% (despite a very conservative asset allocation, with over 70% of the portfolio invested in debt instruments).

The management team is currently working on a new investment initiative, into which Microfinanza 1 will have access to favorable conditions. The new investment initiative will have as underlying assets listed shares of financial intermediaries dedicated to the financing of micro, small and medium enterprises and the supply of financial services to unexploited markets with a high growth potential.

Thanks to the investment in listed assets, the Fund will be able to provide its investors with a very high liquidity level compared to the traditional private markets (private equity and private debt) and will benefit from returns generated by high growth business investments, providing a very low correlation grade in comparison to traditional financial markets.

The Impact Investments department of Green Arrow Capital SGR is further supported in deal flow generation and analysis, on a ongoing basis, by MainStreet Partners, an independent advisory boutique based in London specialized in the impact investing field. For more info please follow the website link: www.mspartners.org