CGAP’s MIV Survey 2009: Steady Performance of MIVs
 Foreign capital investments in microfinance passed the USD 10 billion mark in December 2008. More than half of this cross-border investment is managed by specialized funds, known as microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs). This new and fast-growing segment of the emerging market asset class is attracting a broad range of socially-oriented investors. But there is still limited information available on these vehicles. How many MIVs are in operation? How have they performed in 2008? How has the global financial crisis affected them?
The third edition of CGAP’s annual MIV Survey, conducted by Symbiotics, identified 103 MIVs with estimated USD 6.6 billion assets under management as of December 2008 (compared to 5.4 billion in 2007). Eighty MIVs participated in the survey, representing 93 percent of total MIV assets. Eleven new MIVs were created in 2008.
The survey highlights that asset growth has slowed down from 72% in 2007 to 31% in 2008. Asset managers forecast steady growth of 29% for 2009. Fixed income investments continue to dominate representing 75% of microfinance Investments, but equity is growing fast at more than 47%.
The market is still highly concentrated. 76% of investments are concentrated in Eastern Europe and Latin America, but Asia is catching up with more than 55% growth in 2008. The top 5 MIVs account for 53% of AUM.
For the first time, performance indicators on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues have been included in the survey. 61% of the MIVs report ESG information to their investors and more than 60% have endorsed the Client Protection Principles (CPPs). Reporting on the environmental dimension is still relatively less developed: 12% of the MIVs compensate for carbon emissions; 41% have environment exclusion lists.
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