The third selected paper for the European Microcredit Research Awards 2011 analyses the economic and financial performance of a financial product called Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIV). Recently, international commercial and investment banks, development agencies, and private donors have started investing in the microfinance sector, by creating MIVs to enable MFIs to access capital markets for their financial resources. Over the last decade, MIVs have become a crucial tool for the development and growth of MFIs. This research investigates whether adding microfinance investments to a portfolio of risky international assets yields gains through diversification.