MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Absolute Portfolio Management Loans $18m from Dual Return Funds to Microfinance Institutions in Asia, Latin America

Absolute Portfolio Management (APM), an Austrian firm that invests in microfinance and other sectors, recently disbursed loans totaling USD 18.5 million for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, India, Peru, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan [1]. The loans were made through the two microfinance funds managed by APM – Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Fund-Vision Microfinance Local Currency. The names of the investees, apart from Ecuador’s Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito (COAC) Riobamba, and the sizes of individual investments have not been disclosed. COAC Riobamba’s services include loans, savings, money transfer, payment services and giving microcredit to entrepreneurs working in production, agriculture, trade and the service sector.

As of January 2014, the two Dual Return funds reported total assets of USD 250 million under management. As of 2013, COAC Riobamba  reported a loan portfolio of USD 135 million, total assets of USD 180 million, total deposits of USD 140 million, a 1.10 percent return on assets (ROA), a 8.24 percent return on equity (ROE) and approximately 25,000 clients in Ecuador.

By Tejas Jain, Research Associate

About Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance

The Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance is a sub-fund of Vision Microfinance, both of which were created in 2006 by Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH, an Austrian investment company with a focus on microfinance in developing countries. As of July 2013, its annual label was renewed by the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector. The fund reported total assets of USD 130 million as of November 25, 2013.

About Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance Local Currency

The Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance Local Currency is a sub-fund of Vision Microfinance, both of which were created in 2006 by Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH, an Austrian investment company with a focus on microfinance in developing countries. The fund disburses local-currency loans directly to microfinance institutions (MFIs). As of July 2013, its annual label was renewed by the Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an organization that investigates whether investment vehicles actually support the microfinance sector. It reported total assets of USD 52.4 million as of November 25, 2013.

About Absolute Portfolio Management

Absolute Portfolio Management GmbH (APM) is an Austria-based asset management company that offers investment and advisory services in microfinance and other sectors. The firm’s Dual Return – Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance Local Currency were created in 2006 and report total assets of USD 250 million under management, as of January 2014.

About Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito (COAC) Riobamba

Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito (COAC) Riobamba is a savings and credit cooperative established in 1978 in Riobamba, Ecuador. Its services include loans, savings, money transfer, payment services and giving microcredit to entrepreneurs working in production, agriculture, trade and the service sector. As of 2013, COAC Riobamba  reported a loan portfolio of USD 135 million, total assets of USD 180 million, total deposits of USD 140 million, a 1.10 percent return on assets (ROA), a 8.24 percent return on equity (ROE) and approximately 25,000 clients in Ecuador.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Information submitted to MicroCapital by Absolute Portfolio Management, January 2014, “Vision Microfinance: Social Impact Investing”

Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito (COAC) Riobamba, Annual Report 2012,
https://www.cooprio.fin.ec/info/doc/MEMORIA2012.rar

MicroCapital Story, December 10, 2013, “Absolute Portfolio Management’s Dual Return Funds Loan $19m to Microfinance Institutions in  Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia’”
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-absolute-portfolio-managements-dual-return-funds-loan-19m-to-microfinance-institutions-in-armenia-bosnia-and-herzegovina-cambodia-costa-rica-ecuador-georgia-india/

MicroCapital Story, October 8, 2013, “Absolute Portfolio Management (APM) Issues $12.5m in Credits from Dual Return Funds in Microfinance Institutions in Asia, Latin America,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-absolute-portfolio-management-apm-issues-12-5m-credit-from-dual-return-funds-to-microfinance-institutions-in-asia-and-central-america/

MicroCapital Story, September 14, 2012, “ResponsAbility Loans $5.3m to ProCredit Mexico, COAC Riobamba of Ecuador”
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-responsability-loans-5-3m-to-procredit-mexico-coac-riobamba-of-ecuador/

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance,
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=DUAL+RETURN+VISION+MICROFINANCE+FUND

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Dual Return Fund – Vision Microfinance Local Currency,
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Dual+Return+-+Vision+Microfinance+Local+Currency+Fund

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Absolute Portfolio Management,
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Absolute+Portfolio+Management

MicroCapital Universe Profile: COAC Riobamba
http://microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Cooperativa+de+Ahorro+y+Credito+%28COAC%29+Riobamba

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.

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