Kealan Doyle explains Symvan’s California-style approach to venture capital, saying that Europe is behind the curve but things are changing. In a conversation grounded in the venture capital industry’s shift during the last five years from an asset-backed to growth focus, he talks about Symvan Capital’s life-cycle approach from seed to later-stage funding rounds, why it focuses on B2B tech, its progressive fee structure and the “inventive streak” in the UK.
Gordon Pugh discusses Blackfinch Investments’ Asset Focused EIS and Media EIS Portfolios, including how construction still offers a route to asset-backing and the interesting new area of offshore supply vessels. He talks about the diligence of Blackfinch’s approach to receiving Advanced Assurance from HMRC, sometimes receiving this as quickly as a fortnight, and why ‘capital preservation’ is a misnomer: all investments seek to balance a risk return profile.
Louise Farley expands on Deepbridge Capital’s position as a ‘business builder’, underscored by its management team’s background, and how that translates into its investment strategy. Also touched on are demystifying ‘life sciences’ for advisers and their clients, and increased interest in investee businesses as the public focus shifts from tax reliefs to growth and innovation. She talks about increasing diversity in the industry – from business angels to company founders – and a collaborative effort to back British business.
James Faulkner uses Oxford Capital’s high-tech and high-growth focus as a jumping-off point for how increasing asset values have driven demand for EIS. On deal flow, he doesn’t believe there’s a lack of quality deals in the market, but sourcing the best of the best is still key. In a changing landscape, adviser education is important, and consequently so is manager clarity on strategy, investment process and when tax reliefs will kick in.
Nick discusses the underlying assets of their Inheritance Tax Service, including their investment into renewable energy schemes such as solar power, wind power and anaerobic digestion. Their other main investments include financing the roll out of smart electricity meters and schools and hospitals built and financed under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and acquired in the secondary market. He then goes on to discuss what makes Government focused initiatives suitable for estate planning and Foresight’s position in the BPR market. He also gives some insight into the fee levels in BPR and Foresight’s aim to provide investors with predictable, low volatility investments, using 3 key assessment criteria.
John gives an insight into the impact of the recent EIS and VCT rule changes, as well as some thoughts about what may come in the future. He talks about how the biggest impact of these (mainly EU required) changes was on those looking to management buy-outs as their exit strategy. He predicts that BREXIT will not greatly affect the regulatory environment for the next year or so while Government agencies such as HMRC are focusing on clarifying the current interpretations of the rules. As a result, possible changes will have to wait until later.
Henny Dovland explains TIME Investments new smart passive product as well as how AIM has matured to allow such an approach. The strategy is built around the more mature, less volatile, larger AIM listed companies that qualify for BPR. She also points-out how the smart passive product can be cost effective in comparison to the active manager approach traditionally used with AIM.
Madeleine gives an overview of Calculus Capital’s private equity management strategy. She says it is essentially all about intensive due diligence with a holistic approach that focuses on a wide range of investment factors – particularly focusing on those who manage the company they are looking to invest in.
Henny Dovland gives a brief explanation of how TIME Investments use their wealth of experience to create transparent and straightforward strategies that meet their desired targets as well as achieve a number of successful exits for their clients. She also touches on Time Investments’ customer service approach that ensures client trust such as their direct payment scheme and their discounted fees in the event of a sudden death before BPR eligibility is achieved.
Belinda Thomas dives into how Triple Point, the estate planning service, takes a hands-on approach in order to achieve its ultimate goal of capital preservation and liquidity. She highlights the importance of focusing on the underlying assets through their two underlying strategies: ‘Generations’ and ‘Navigator’; and how they work to successfully achieve their ultimate goals.
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