Venture Capital
Backing the companies that do not exist yet.
Early ownership of the private businesses that may define the next decade, accessed through managers we trust and diversified across stage and vintage.
Strategy
A few extraordinary outcomes pay for everything else.
Venture capital is governed by a simple, unforgiving mathematics: most investments return little, and a very small number return a great deal. A single company can define an entire fund. This power law is not a flaw in the asset class; it is the asset class.
It has two consequences. Diversification matters more here than almost anywhere, because you cannot know in advance which company will be the one. And access to the best managers matters more still, because in venture, unlike public markets, the winners are consistently backed by the same small circle of investors.
See the full platformThe power law
Why diversification is not optional.
In a typical venture portfolio, most companies return little, a handful return capital, and a very small number return many times over, driving almost the entire result. The illustrative profile below is why we favour diversified access across many companies and vintages.
Illustrative distribution of a representative venture portfolio, not a forecast. Capital is at risk and most start-ups fail.
How we access it
Diversified, and with the right managers.
Established funds
Commitments to venture managers with a demonstrable record and access to the strongest founders, giving diversified exposure across a portfolio of young companies.
Fund-of-funds
A single, diversified allocation across many venture managers, stages and geographies, appropriate for a first, measured step into the asset class.
Selective co-investment
Direct positions alongside trusted managers in individual companies, for clients seeking greater concentration in their strongest convictions.
Suitability & risk
What to weigh before allocating.
High failure rate
Most start-ups fail. Individual losses are expected and are part of how the asset class works.
Deep illiquidity
Capital is committed for a decade or more, with little prospect of early exit.
Access dependency
Returns depend heavily on reaching the best managers, which is difficult and never guaranteed.
A modest slice
Venture belongs as a small, deliberate part of a portfolio, sized so that its risk is bearable.
Questions
What clients ask us first.
Continue
Related capabilities.
Begin the relationship
Consider a measured venture allocation.
Speak with a specialist about diversified access to the next generation of companies.