Why Acartha?
Domain expertise.
Acartha is a team of domain experts. In contrast to investment bankers or analysts that may manage other funds, Acartha team members are practitioners of the trade. Over the past ten years the Acartha team has built and developed many of the technologies and business processes that support various sectors of the financial services market today. In the process, we have transformed from being buyers of technology into being investors of companies that create these technologies, products and processes. The team's deep domain expertise has produced impressive and consistent investment returns over the past 15 years.
Managing duration.
The Acartha team does not follow the extended investment approach of most venture capital funds. Our approach limits and better manages the length of investment duration allowing success to be more predictable. The team enjoys deep industry contacts which allow it to discover upcoming needs of the financial services marketplace. Acartha then identifies and targets those companies that are developing meaningful solutions, whether they are business structures, technologies or products. We do extensive field work, providing the targeted company with sales, business development, personnel and strategic contacts. We guide our companies through the entire sales process. Acartha only invests after market interest has started to gain real contractual momentum. The result is a high level of success with reduced levels of risk.
Results.
Since 1999, Acartha principals have formed three venture capital funds with combined principal capital of approximately $150 million and another $100 million of co-investment, investing in financial institution and enterprise technology opportunities with a combined rate of return of 24.7%. That return rate jumps to over 37% when only financial services related investments are taken into account. Applying that experience, the Acartha team now only focuses on financial services, their area of expertise.
(a) Equal Weighted Pooled Mean of 123 reporting Vintage Year Funds as of June 30, 2008.
(b) Returns as of June 30, 2008. Return calculated based on estimated terminal valuations for portfolio companies still held by funds.
Why now?
With the upheaval and unprecedented stress in our financial system, regulatory mandates are growing. The technological systems and services required to meet these mandates replace those that cannot. The broad devaluation of prices and deflated market conditions are making many potential providers more attractively priced. Lower enterprise values, combined with predictable and growing markets, create clear opportunities for an investor.
