Reporting policy

The period covered by this report is the calendar year 2020. The publication date of the previous annual report was March 25, 2020. There have been no significant changes to our legal structure, activities, or policies in the course of 2020 that would require a restatement of information. The method for measuring new investments mobilized funds has been adjusted: In 2019 the new investments mobilized funds included participations that were on FMO’s own books in earlier years and sold on to other investors in the reporting year. From 2020 these are excluded. Comparative figures have been adjusted accordingly: New investments mobilized funds 2019 from €868 million to €722 million, Green investments 2019 from €961 million to €861 million and RI investments 2019 from €798 million to €784 million. Also, the method for measuring ESG performance and the model for estimating the number of jobs supported have changed compared to 2019. Both changes are explained in chapter Performance on our strategy. 

The figures and percentages in this annual report (not the annual accounts) include the figures for FMO and its subsidiaries as well as those of the FMO-managed government funds, unless explicitly stated. The assets advised on by FMO IM for third parties are not included in this annual report.

Many of our financing and investing activities take place in foreign currencies, mostly in US dollars. Unless explicitly stated, all investment amounts mentioned throughout the report have been translated into our functional currency, the Euro, based on the foreign exchange rates at the date of contracting. Figures referring to the year-end committed portfolio have been translated into euros using the year-end foreign exchange rates.

For the closing-of-the-books processes, data was taken from our internal systems. Data pertaining to our portfolio was taken from financial systems. Non-financial elements of our portfolio, specifically data for measuring impact and footprint, are based on data from customers and macroeconomic data sources. Information on human resources comes from our HR systems and is linked to our salary administration system.

Data quality is important as it forms the basis for management reporting and steering. To safeguard data quality, financial and non-financial data registration are embedded in our core investment process. The results are analyzed by an employee independent of the investment process, both on project level during the year and on an aggregated level after closing of the books. Beyond that, as a third line of defense, FMO’s Internal Audit department considers data quality and the underlying processes to be important audit areas.

The case studies included throughout the report offer insight into our activities and are not necessarily representative of our entire portfolio. They do, however, exemplify projects within our regions and strategic sectors, and highlight material activities of FMO and their inherent dilemmas from the perspective of different stakeholders.