Peter van der Velden’s Post

Exciting news! UK start-ups are looking to Silicon Valley for investment opportunities, as pension funds at home are playing it safe. This shift is a game-changer for the UK tech scene. Check out the full article by Financial Times to learn more about this trend and its potential impact on the industry. #UKstartups #SiliconValleyInvestment #TechIndustryTrends https://ift.tt/Pn8Mj4k

🇬🇧 UK start-ups are turning to Silicon Valley to make up for the lack of investment from risk-averse pension funds, according to the Financial Times. As a result, they are finding new opportunities and growth potential across the pond. This trend reflects the global interconnectedness of the tech industry and the necessity for UK start-ups to seek funding from alternative sources to fuel their growth. It's crucial for these businesses to adapt and diversify their funding strategies in order to thrive in a competitive landscape. Check out the full article for more insights on this evolving trend. #UKStartups #SiliconValleyInvestment #TechIndustryTrends https://ift.tt/Pn8Mj4k

Pension Fund-based VC Ecosystem is thriving! Ever wondered how pension funds are secretly fueling the startup boom in India? Here’s how the pension fund-based venture capital (VC) ecosystem works and why it matters♨️ How it Works 💁♂️ 👉1. Pension funds diversify by investing in venture capital, aiming for higher returns beyond the usual stocks and bonds. 👉2. They don’t invest directly in startups; instead, they pour money into VC funds managed by professionals. These funds then invest in a bunch of startups. 👉3. Before committing, pension funds scrutinize these VC funds like a nosy neighbor, checking track records, strategies, and risks. 👉4. Once the deal is done, the funds drip-feed money into the VC fund over time. 👉5. The VC fund builds a portfolio of promising startups and tries to make them big. 👉6. When these startups grow and become successful, the VC fund hopes to cash in and make a profit for the pension funds. 👉7. The goal is to exit through IPOs, mergers, or sales, and then distribute the returns to the investors, including pension funds. Significance in India🚀 👉1. PE/VC investments in infrastructure and real estate grew 23% in 2023, hitting $19.6 billion across 112 deals. 👉2. The Indian VC ecosystem craves transparency, especially in exits and liquidity, to keep global investors happy. 👉3. India’s pension savings are at $280 billion, growing at 32.91% annually, and expected to reach $1 trillion by 2025. 👉4. PensionBox, India’s first digital pension app, aims to make retirement planning simple and secure for millions. Pension funds diving into the VC world aim for high returns while helping innovative startups thrive. 🟡 It’s a win-win, fueling both pensions and the startup ecosystem.🏃 #startup #funding

FT - UK start-ups turn to Silicon Valley to fill void left by risk-averse pension funds “[The US venture capital firms] want me to build the biggest company I can and to die trying,” explained the 45-year-old entrepreneur. Matthew Scullion is crystal clear that the turning point for the UK software company he founded was when it won the backing of two US venture capital firms. In 2018, Scale Venture Partners and Sapphire Venture led a funding round in Matillion, then a seven-year-old start-up headquartered in Manchester. UK investors contributed a small amount, but Scullion credits the injection of Silicon Valley cash and knowhow for helping propel Matillion into a select club: one of the UK’s unicorns, or private companies worth at least $1bn. “We have a wonderful life sciences industry and one of the largest pools of capital in the world with our pensions industry, but they’re parallel universes,” said Sir Jonathan Symonds, chair of FTSE 100 drugmaker GSK, who feared that future generations of retirees would be denied the financial rewards of UK innovation. But Fred Cohen, co-founder of venture capital firm Monograph Capital, said Britain also suffers from a dearth of “true risk capital and there’s not a lot of managers who are comfortable taking the risk that is required to manage that capital”. He added: “In the City of London there’s a lot of capital but it tends to be focused on low risk, low reward asset classes like gilts.” Channelling more money into private assets, including start-ups, is a central tenet of the Mansion House reforms. They include an agreement by 11 of the UK’s biggest DC pension providers to target allocating 5 per cent of their default funds, or up to £50bn, to unlisted assets by 2030." https://lnkd.in/ecVDNAgS

LACERA, Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association has voted to decrease the allocation to venture. "The board of investments voted to decrease its allocation range to venture capital and growth equity from between 15% and 30% of the pension system’s private equity portfolio, to between 5% and 25%. LACERA’s venture portfolio is currently 10.8% of the PE portfolio." https://lnkd.in/eijx2Mhi #endowments #pensionfunds #venturecapital #investing

🌟 UK start-ups are turning to Silicon Valley to fill the void left by risk-averse pension funds, according to the Financial Times. This trend signals an increased appetite for investment in innovative and growing UK businesses, showcasing the potential for transatlantic collaboration in the tech sector. Is your start-up considering seeking funding from Silicon Valley investors? What are your thoughts on this emerging trend? #UKstartups #SiliconValleyInvestment #TransatlanticCollaboration https://ift.tt/Pn8Mj4k

Is venture capital too risky for pension funds? Wiltshire Pension Fund and Environment Agency Pension Fund don't seem to think so, as they have both allocated to the €300 million World Fund, which invests in startups that create value through decarbonisation technologies. The fund is pan-European, but it includes UK companies, such as Treecard, a consumer app that supports sustainable lifestyles and uses sponsorship revenue to plant trees; Mission Zero Technologies, which provides a direct air capture solution powered by renewable energy; Space Forge, which will use space's low-gravity, vacuum conditions to manufacture cutting-edge semiconductors that use 75% less energy; and ENOUGH, which has developed a sustainable protein source for meat alternatives. Wiltshire Pension Fund uses BlackRock's "SALAMI" (Strategic Allocation to Liquid Asset Matching Investments) strategy to ensure that liquidity is available for capital calls, while maintaining the portfolio's target asset allocation (i.e. avoiding cash drag). Really encouraging to see UK pension funds investing in enterprises actively creating climate solutions as an integral part of their Net Zero strategies. #impactinvesting #netzero #cleanenergy #energytransition #pensions #lgps Aysha Gilmore Danijel Višević Jennifer Devine Becky LeAnstey https://lnkd.in/exx6b7ce

💵 Over the past decade, the world’s most renowned pensions, endowments, and fund allocators lined up with their checkbooks to get a slice of VC returns. ⬇️ 📈 With more demand for venture exposure, larger fund sizes have naturally followed. Driven by the rise of mega-funds and sizable step-ups across subsequent funds, the average US venture fund size climbed from $84 million in 2013 to $154 million by Q4 2023. 🏷️ The resulting abundance of capital competing for high-quality deals has inflated valuations across stages. Today, VCs are forced to write much larger checks than they did ten years ago for equivalent equity and ownership. Naturally, this escalation has driven up financing round sizes, with later stages particularly experiencing significant increases. 🧮 Fund size inherently molds every facet of a venture firm’s strategy. Therefore, the upward trend in venture fund sizes over the past decade calls into question how the strategy of these funds may need to shift in tandem. Larger funds fundamentally recalibrate the venture return calculus — bigger funds need bigger outcomes. By taking on meaningfully more capital, VCs ratchet up the imperative for sourcing companies whose future value can deliver nothing short of a home run. 💡 While this longer term trend is well documented, the current environment for venture capitalists presents new fundraising challenges. Mega funds have raised new capital for vehicles much smaller than prior fund size peaks and LPs have become more cautious in both commitment size and pacing. Continue reading more on this topic to see the trend’s evolution and contrast with today’s challenging macroenvironment ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eZUDQtH3

The British Business Bank’s UK Venture Capital Financial Returns 2024 Report is out 📈 ✅ Key highlights show:  - UK VC returns were above the US and the rest of Europe for older vintages, and are in line with or slightly below for more recent vintages - Life sciences venture capital funds outperform the market for realised returns, while green tech investments are becoming more commercially viable - Fundraising remains a key challenge for GPs, though there are some initial signs of improved exit conditions and expectations for higher valuations  The relative performance of British Patient Capital-backed funds has improved over the past year There’s some good news there, but it’s still been a tough outlook for VCs. The report shows a significant majority of VCs surveyed for the report found the current state of the market for raising funds was poor or very poor. The BVCA’s Michael Moore commenting on the report, has drawn attention to the opportunity for the industry to address this issue through investing UK pensions into private capital:    “This report shows how challenging it can be for venture capital firms to raise funds - Currently, just 3% of worldwide pensions investment into UK led growth equity and venture capital is from UK pension funds. This emphasises the importance of initiatives linked to the pensions investment review which aim to catalyse institutional investment into UK venture capital and growth funds, and the businesses they invest in. “Alongside the Government’s pensions investment review, the British Growth Partnership can make it easier for VCs to raise funds which will ultimately help grow the next generation of successful British scale-ups.”    It is more important than ever that we find ways to boost the UK’s #economicgrowth and the retirement prospects of pension savers. To do this, we need policies that help UK pension schemes access longer-term investments in the UK. Something our Pensions & Private Capital Expert Panel led by Kerry Baldwin is working on...   Read the full report here - https://lnkd.in/dW5qFw8i #venturecapital #growthequity

🌟 Exciting news! UK start-ups are looking to Silicon Valley for funding amid the cautious approach of pension funds. According to the Financial Times, this shift is reshaping the investment landscape. It's a testament to the thriving entrepreneurial spirit in the UK. It's inspiring to see companies seeking innovative avenues for growth. #UKstartups #SiliconValley #InvestmentTrends https://ift.tt/Pn8Mj4k