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Microfinance & Impact Investing at Scale: BlueOrchard CEO, Philipp Mueller on Empowering Entrepreneurs, Transforming Lives, Driving Positive Social Change, and More…(#019)
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Philipp Mueller is Chief Executive Officer of BlueOrchard, a leading global impact investment manager and member of the Schroders Group, that connects millions of entrepreneurs in emerging and frontier markets with investors. Philipp joined BlueOrchard in 2018 from Partners Group, where he served in a number of capacities in Switzerland and in the UK, most recently as Senior Vice President of Investment Solutions. Phillipp holds an MBA from ETH Zurich and a master’s degree in Law from the University of Zurich.
During today’s discussion, we discuss Philipp’s time as an Officer in the Mountain Infantry during his time in compulsory military service in Switzerland. Philipp shares how after completing his Masters degree in law he decided to pursue a career in finance instead and he discusses the reasons behind his eventual transition from traditional finance to impact investing, shedding light on his motivations and choices.
We discuss Philipp’s role as CEO at BlueOrchard, the company mission and how they prioritize making a positive environmental and/or social impact, while still achieving market rate financial returns. Philipp explains what microfinance means, its potential to advance financial inclusion, and shares some real life examples of microfinance impact. We speak together about blended finance and how this can change the risk return profile of certain investments in order to attract more private investors, and we look at the broad range of BlueOrchard’s investor profiles and the potential benefits of investing in microfinance as an asset class. Philipp shares his views on the role of advancing technology in impact and microfinance and much more.
Please Note: This interview was conducted on 17 May 2021 - AUM and other facts & statistics cited in this episode will have evolved.
Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/philipp-mueller
About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, Scott Arnell interviews a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys—and what motivated and attracted them to commit their life energy to SRI—to insights on how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.
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Chapters
1. Episode introduction (00:00:00)
2. Philipp tells us about the book ‘This is My Story’, which BlueOrchard published in 2021 (00:01:40)
3. We hear about Philipp’s compulsory military service in Switzerland and how much he enjoyed his experience as an Officer in the Mountain Infantry (00:04:24)
4. We discuss how Philipp came to work in Finance following his law studies (00:06:04)
5. Philipp shares how he made the transition from traditional finance to impact investing, re-aligning his career with his personal values (00:08:03)
6. Philipp gives us an overview of BlueOrchard and the company mission (00:09:21)
7. Philipp gives us an explanation of microfinance and what it means (00:11:26)
8. We hear how BlueOrchard assess the institutions they work with, specifically in countries where corruption is commonplace. (00:18:49)
9. Philipp shares some real-life examples of microfinance impact and how it has improved the lives of the end user (00:21:02)
10. We discuss the potential benefits and returns for investing in microfinance (00:24:12)
11. We look at BlueOrchard’s typical investor profile (00:26:29)
12. We discuss the potential risks of investing in microfinance (00:29:01)
13. Philipp explains blended finance and how it helps change the risk return profile of certain investments in order to attract more private investors (00:30:08)
14. We discuss greenwashing and how Blue Orchard protects against it (00:35:31)
15. Philipp shares his views on the role of advancing technology in impact and microfinance (00:37:30)
16. What Philipp knows now about microfinance investing that he wishes he had known when he joined BlueOrchard in 2018 (00:39:20)
17. Lessons learned from an investment that didn’t go to plan (00:40:13)
18. An example of an investment that worked out better than expected (00:41:01)
19. Philipp shares his advice on how to get into the microfinance investing space (00:42:11)
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