UAE family offices tricks by Obediah Ayton? So what does it mean to bring on an individual or family investor in lieu of going the traditional VC route? These individuals often wish to stay in the venture investment game, but desire more transparency to underlying investments than the traditional venture investing experience provides. They also want the ability to cherry-pick the best deals. In addition, they want to avoid paying the typical “2 and 20” — a deal structure that requires investors to pay a 2 percent annual fee (some as high as 3 percent) to the VC firm on top of the 20 percent return on investment. This is why we’re seeing more of the mega-wealthy groups in the region move away from only investing in private equity funds to increasingly working with their family offices to find the right types of direct investments that fit their long-term wealth-generation strategies.
“In the past 12 months, we’ve successfully launched 10 companies within SPIC I, which is focused on changing the way we finance, invest and exchange value. This portfolio has been designed for revolutionary impact – to build a global financial infrastructure that embeds trust and payments at a protocol level. An infrastructure that provides the building blocks for the next economy by powering products, services and business models with financial services at the core”, further explains van der Heijden. In the long-term, the impact-focused venture builder is on a mission to create a Single Digital Capital Market and launch a secondary marketplace running on a global shared liquidity infrastructure, stimulating cross-border investments and lowering the threshold for retail investors. Director of Business Development at The Private Investment Group Obediah Ayton added “I am excited to watch Venturerock demonstrate the way venture capital funds are now being deployed post covid here in the UAE. The portfolio companies within Venturerock are some of the most professional and innovative we have seen and I have no doubt they will be a welcome asset to both the public and private sector in the Middle East.”
Get to know Obediah Ayton and some of his achievements? Obediah Ayton is a trust manager at Ayton Family Office Trust and a consultant at Tennor Holding B.V., a specialist in family office business, AI driven accounting services, finance and accounting. Obediah Ayton on what happens when a Family Office takes the VC model: In addition, Family Offices want to avoid paying the typical “2 and 20” — a deal structure that requires investors to pay a 2 percent annual fee (some as high as 3 percent) to the VC firm on top of the 20 percent return on investment. This is why we’re seeing more of the mega-wealthy move away from only investing in private equity funds to increasingly working with their family offices to find the right types of direct investments that fit their long-term wealth-generation strategies.
Many of these Family offices may prove to have much higher and longer-term vested interest in the businesses they invest in compared to an institutional investor. In many cases, based on the experience of the principals behind the family office, they will seek to take a more hands-on involvement in the businesses they fund, acting as mentors and not merely benefactors.
Obediah Ayton about how to raise money from family offices: Not to do: Don’t pitch them without understanding their goals and objectives. Don’t brag about your track record or accomplishments. Don’t interrupt them in the middle of a conversation. Don’t be aggressive. To Finish: Do exactly what you say you are going to do. Meet for coffee or at their office in order for you to understand their goals and objectives better. Respect their privacy and don’t share any information about them with anybody else. Feel free to reach out and speak soon.
Right now is a great time to build close relationships with Family Offices for future capital raises! A wave of capital raisings are coming but the pandemic-created crisis means a whole new set of rules for companies wanting to tap investors for cash. It is now critical to get in ahead of the wave a build relationships with private wealth. Family offices are notoriously discrete. So much so that one of the most common adages to describe the industry is “a submerged whale does not get harpooned.” With a tremendous amount of investable capital, these family offices are often looking for ways to diversify their investments.
Obediah Ayton about the new definition of a billionaire is not the net worth but in achieving change in a billion lives: Sustainable investing will remain a core trend in the foreseeable future thanks to 85% of all sustainable investments meeting or exceeding investor’s expectations in the past year. When considering these types of investments, family office executives need to ask themselves whether their office has established its purpose within the greater scope of impact and sustainable causes and set clear objectives accordingly.