Research: Harvard/MIT Research Shows Angels Outperform VC's
A new paper by Josh Lerner of the Harvard Business School and Antoinette Schoar of the MIT Sloan School of Management explores the rise of angel investing and compares it to venture capital. Using data from two large angel startup groups, the authors were able to show results that should encourage attention to this mode of financing. First, they find that during the period of study, “the angel group outperformed the venture capital industry overall.” Second, they found that “Startups funded by angel investors are 14% to 23% more likely to survive for the next 1.5 to 3 years and grow their employment by 40% relative to non-angel funded startups. Angel funding affects the subsequent likelihood of a successful exit, raising it by 10% to 17%.”
Lerner and Schoar explain the positive outcomes of angel investors by arguing that they provide “value added and hands-on improvement … rather than just access to funds.” Often angel investors include “some of the most sophisticated and active investors in a given region, which might result in superior decision-making.” The paper makes a good case for the use of angel investing as a way of improving the entrepreneurial ecosystem in a region.
Presentation: Risk & Returns of the Angel Asset Class - Practical Strategies for Diversification
Presentation: Participating in our Digital Future
Click here to see the slideshow presented at the GooglePlex YPO day with Google Launchpad, Keiretsu Capital and Google X.
Press: SG Advisors Spotlight on Investing in China & Hong Kong
China, on track to be fully merged with Hong Kong in 2047, is poised to overtake the U.S. as the globe’s largest economy. Or is it? Investors who want to explore this as an investment opportunity need to understand not just the Chinese economy, but the market mechanics of China and Hong Kong and what type of access they offer. As China travels the road to world leader status we examine whether investors are welcome to join in the journey. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments are significant owners in most Chinese and Hong Kong stocks. Those that partner with these governments by owning stocks of companies based in China and Hong Kong should expect a bumpy ride impacted by politics, currency risk, and a changing investment landscape.
Press: Angel-Investor Funds Profiled in SF Business Times
Research: Do early-stage investors really enjoy rates of return three times better than public markets?
Do early-stage investors really enjoy rates of return three times better than public markets?
How much money do angel investors make investing in early-stage companies? Is it a genuine “asset class” with generally predictable returns, or just a potentially expensive hobby?
When Upstate Carolina Angel Network (UCAN) investors in Greenville and South Carolina Angel Network (SCAN) investors across South Carolina invest in a startup company, we have a specific return goal: to make a 50 percent or better annualized internal rate of return (IRR), which translates to 10 times our investment in five years (or four times in three years, etc.). We know that early-stage investing is highly risky: Startups often fail and take their investors’ capital with them. Factoring in the inevitable losses, we target a “portfolio return” of 20 percent IRR.
This compares to the annualized return (including dividends) of the S&P 500 over the last 15 years of around 7 percent. Do angels really enjoy rates of return three times better than public markets?
When you read about the fortunes of early private investors in Twitter or Uber, or founders like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, you see that sometimes they do. But those cases are news precisely because they are atypical. So what returns do “regular” angel investors expect, and what do they actually achieve?
Matthew Le Merle’s study, “Capturing the Expected Returns of Angel Investors in Groups,” released last December, answers the first question. From surveys of angel groups, Le Merle found that 55 percent of investors expect returns above 20 percent IRR, and the rest expect 10 to 20 percent IRR – better than public markets on average. This resonates with surveys of our members that show they are targeting returns of 20 percent or more IRR.
Press: Best Practices for India's Angels
There are best practices that differentiate between the most and the least successful investors: Matthew Le Merle of Keiretsu Capital
Keiretsu Capital is an affiliate of Keiretsu Forum, a leading global angel network headquartered in the US. The Keiretsu Forum has three chapters in India – Chennai, Bengaluru and Mumbai – helping Indian angel investors invest in start-ups in the US and in India. Keiretsu Capital has about $10 million under management, which it hopes to go up to $20 million by the year-end. In this recent interview, Matthew Le Merle, Managing Partner, Keiretsu Capital, talks of angel investing and the opportunities for India.
Press: VCCircle Interviews Matthew Le Merle on Angel Investing in India
Best time for angel investors in India, says Keiretsu Cap's Matthew Le Merle
Keiretsu Capital, the co-investment fund of global angel network Keiretsu Forum, raised around $6.5 million for its first angel investor fund in 2015. It is now planning to start a seed fund in India. During his recent visit to India, Matthew Le Merle, a managing partner at the fund, said it was contemplating an India focussed fund in 2017.
The US based cross border network's Chennai chapter, its first in India, has invested a little over $1 million in early stage startups, finishing its first year with around a dozen deals.
In this interview with VCCircle, Le Merle, whose firm, Fifth Era, advises countries and companies on growing the digital economy, outlines the investment goals for Keiretsu Capital's funds and the opportunities for angel investors in India.
Press: VCCircle Announces Keiretsu Capital to Launch India Fund in 2017
Keiretsu Forum, one of the world’s leading angel networks with 46 chapters across three continents, is planning to start a venture fund in India.