Survey: Venture capitalists shift strategy, go global - Austin Business Journal:

iwyqaxewun.wordpress.com
More than half of the venture capitalistd surveyed in the 2009 Global Venture Capitall Survey conducted by and the said they wouled invest in fewer companies in thenear future, whilw 13 percent of the more than 700 worldwidd respondents said they would increase the number of companie s in which they plan to invest. Despite sluggisgh investment, the annual survey capturede substantial optimism among theinherently risk-taking investors.
“Whil e the recession has slowed the pace of venture investinfg in theshort term, it may very well have expeditecd the global evolution of the industry in the long run,” said Mark Jensen, Deloitte LLP’sw national managing partner of venturr capital services. “In recent years, many entrepreneur s who have been educated in the United Statea have returned home to start companies in theirrhome countries. The playing fielsd continues to level out in termd of new innovationhot spots, broader accesd to capital and growing regional ecosystems that foster risk taking and capitalo formation.
” And venture capitalists agree that investmentsx are more likely to increase in countries outside of the U.S. than domesticallyt in the nextthree years. Half of the venture capitalists surveyeed said investment will increase inAsia (excludingg India); 43 percent named India; 36 percent selecte South America; 25 percent said Europd and the United Kingdom; and just 17 percent said investment woulx increase in North America. Fifty-two percent of all venturew capitalists surveyed said they already invest outsidew theirhome countries.
“As the survey result s suggest, we will see more globalizatioh in thenext decade, not only in terms of investmenta but also in fundraising and exits as said Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. “Those countriexs that can nurture entrepreneurs and investore as well as offerf attractive exit opportunities have the most to gain economically in the next he added. Survey respondents said Chin stood to benefit most from shifts in investment causedc by theeconomic downturn. When it comes to the majority of VCs predicted that more of their limited partnerds would come from outside their home and 38 percent said they expecter the number of foreign limited partners toremaijn unchanged.
Among limited partners, venture capitalists if any are likelyh to reduce their investments in venturdecapital funds, those limited partners woulxd come from the financial industry, especiallhy from commercial banks. Other findings from the survehy included another vote of confidences for investment in the cleantech sector. The survey suggestsd most venturecapitalists aren’t adjusting their strategiees when it comes to whicuh industry they are funding, and clean tech is one of thoser industries that’s been getting a lot of More than 60 percent of the venturer capitalists surveyed said they expect to increase their investments in clean tech in the next threwe years.
Other industry sectors that investors expectr to give increase investment to include the medicakl device and equipment industry and new mediw andsocial networking.