READ

The Future of Venture Capital

Photos by Chino Sardea
15 May 2017

Insights from Kelvin Lee, co-founder of Fundnel

Fundnel is a private investment platform based in Singapore that allows almost everyone to invest in private businesses today augment their portfolio. Here are the major trends that I see developing in the horizon.

Venture capital investments in Southeast Asia have picked up steam, registering activities compared to the rest of the world last year. Valuations have come down for investments in the region, and professional investors are now looking at more reasonable matrices like revenue and profit, instead of vanity matrices like eyeballs and number of hits.

As the venture capital industry matures in this part of the world, we will see increased participation in larger rounds and in later stage companies by investors around the region.

"As millennials come of age, they will be inclined to support and invest in industries around a theme that interests them versus investing purely for financial returns alone."

Investors are evolving alongside companies; they are improving their skill sets, moving from being generalist investors to more sector focused fund managers.

Acting on feedback from the industry, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has recently relaxed regulations around venture capital funds thus allowing more qualified people to invest professionally.

Like much of the finance industry, traditional venture capital investment channels will be disrupted and augmented by tech and Big Data.  We see a lot of venture capital funds from the US, UK and Australia log into online platforms   like Fundnel to augment their ability to source for deals, review opportunities, and syndicate investments.

A new generation of investors are gaining control of their portfolios and moving away from traditional investment choices, preferring to invest in companies that they can relate to instead of paying private banks a fee to invest in their index.

As millennials come of age, they will be inclined to support and invest in industries around a theme that interests them versus investing purely for financial returns alone.

Finally, I want you all to consider this: Think of all the great companies that are around you. How many of them could you have been a part of? People feel strongly about businesses they believe in. At Fundnel, we offer an opportunity for almost everyone to be an active part of the new economy again.