The pandemic is causing project delays for microfinance and impact investor Responsability. As a result, the Zurich-based firm will cut jobs, finews.com has learned.
The Swiss asset manager is cutting ten jobs in Zurich as well as wider Europe, a person familiar with the matter told finews.com on Thursday. A spokeswoman for Responsability, which is specialized in microlending, confirmed the cuts to finews.com. Employees were informed on the measures this week.
The coronavirus pandemic has delayed a series of the firm's investments, leading to a shortfall this year. It isn't the first round of restructuring measures and cuts for Responsability in the last two years: the asset manager dramatically reduced its European distribution team and shut a Luxembourg office (it outsourced the office's fund management to Credit Suisse).
Inflows vs Profits
Last year, Responsability took in roughly $500 million in fresh money, and its assets climbed to $3.5 billion. This year, investor interest has been similarly strong, the company noted. Making money from microfinance is another matter entirely: the 240-employee strong company lags the cost-income ratio of traditional asset managers.
CEO Rochus Mommartz's priorities are to improve Responsability's efficiency, both to provided better returns as well as to satisfy shareholders. Australian pension fund Christian snapped up five percent of Responsability last year; Basel-based private bank Baumann & Cie is a major investor, while others include Raiffeisen, Swiss Re, and Vontobel. Responsability's management and staff hold 14 percent of the company.
The Responsability spokeswoman said the impact investor is launching two new initiatives during the pandemic to support small- and mid-sized businesses in emerging markets to cope with the crisis. Investors, banks, and industrial partners in renewable energy sources put money up, she noted.
