Symbiotics France, a subsidiary of Symbiotics, the Swiss-based leading market access platform for impact investing, in mid-year 2021 started operating as an alternative investment fund manager (AIFM), after obtaining the authorization of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) in 2020.
This development represents a major step in Symbiotics strategy to further develop its fund management and advisory activities in France, an important impact investing market in Europe. In addition, the AIFM license provides access to other markets in the European Union (EU).
Symbiotics France has a team of seven asset management professionals based in Paris, with a primary allocation of staff to the risk and compliance functions. The portfolio management is delegated to Symbiotics, which has more than 15 years of experience in private impact debt in emerging and frontier markets.
To supervise the operations and cater for future growth, the governance of Symbiotics France has been reinforced in 2021 with the addition of Mrs. Maroussia Ermeneux, an independent board member who brings more than 20 years of executive experience in finance, controls, risks and operations among which 10 years in the French asset management industry.
Céline Georges-Picot, recently appointed as Managing Director of Symbiotics France, said: “France plays a leading role in the development of impact investing in Europe, and we are thrilled to be part of this movement. Symbiotics France comes with a unique positioning in the industry: 100% ESG screening, 100% alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, and all of our funds are compliant with the articles 8 or 9 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations (SFDR).”
Gaël Marteau, Deputy Managing Director of Symbiotics France, in charge of client relations, added: “Internalizing the EU AIFM is an important milestone for Symbiotics. We are able to better accompany our existing partners and to build new impact private debt solutions tailored to other institutional investors throughout the European Union.”
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About Symbiotics
Symbiotics is the leading market access platform for impact investing, dedicated to financing micro- small and medium enterprises and low- and middle-income households in emerging and frontier markets. Since 2005, Symbiotics has structured and originated some 6,500 deals for over 520 companies in almost 95 emerging and frontier markets representing more than USD 6.5 billion. These investments have been purchased by more than 25 fund mandates and more than 50 third party specialized fund managers, forming a growing ecosystem and marketplace for such transactions. symbioticsgroup.com
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For more information, contact:
Samy Derradji, Corporate Communication Manager, Symbiotics
samy.derradji@symbioticsgroup.com
Gaël Marteau, Symbiotics France, Deputy Managing Director
gael.marteau@symbioticsgroup.com
