UMB Fund Services (UMBFS) has been selected to provide fund accounting and administration services to impact investment fund, the Kiva Refugee Investment Fund (KRIF).
Through the mandate, the fund will also make use of UMB’s technology solutions including AltPro, UMBFS’ proprietary accounting and reporting platform.
The KRIF was set up by Kiva Capital Management (KCM), the asset management subsidiary of non-profit organisation Kiva. Its aim is to manage institutional-quality impact funds in underserved sectors using Kiva’s massive global network and tenured investment team.
To date, Kiva has mobilised philanthropic lenders on its crowdfunding platform to provide $17 million to more than 20,000 refugee entrepreneurs. KRIF aims to reach to over 200,000 borrowers while targeting impact-first returns for institutional investors.
“We are honoured to provide fund services for Kiva as it expands its ground-breaking work to provide institutional capital to refugees across the globe,” said Jill Calton, executive vice president, executive director of alternative investments at UMB Fund Services. “Our team looks forward to offering our unparalleled client service and technology solutions to assist with what we believe will be the success of the Kiva Refugee Investment Fund.”
Fund administrators have become a crucial for asset managers to gather data and information when measuring the impact of their investments on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
Firms such as Apex Group, HSBC and Northern Trust have recently launched new data and analytics services to cater for impact and ESG investing.
The mandate with KRIF is the second this month for UMBFS, after it was selected by Pear Tree Advisors to provide fund accounting and global custody services to its range of mutual funds with assets under management of nearly $5 billion.