Consumer trust isn’t something to be taken for granted, but reports from the UK, US and here at home are all pointing towards an uplift in trust levels around financial advice, which can only be a welcome development.
There are significant tailwinds behind the financial advice industry at the moment, but some major obstacles are still preventing advice practices from taking advantage of surging demand according to a new study from CFS.
Evergreen ratings highlights new venture capital prospect
Evergreen Ratings, a subsidiary of Evergreen Consultants and a leading research house that specialises in the analysis of closed ended and complex sustainable investment vehicles has given the Aura Venture Fund II a “Commended” rating, highlighting the funds strong team of venture capital specialists.
The alternatives wealth manager, Aura Group, recently opened its second venture capital fund to wholesale investors. The firm currently has 15 VC investments spread across a number of themes such as e-commerce, sustainability and data and internet of things (IOT) businesses.
The Aura Venture Fund II is their second early stage venture capital fund targeting capital growth and diversification for limited partners. The target raising for the Aura Venture Fund II is $50 million, following the $20 million raised for the first fund.
Evergreen Ratings Founder and CEO Angela Ashton says, “Aura Funds Management has established a strong track record with its first venture fund, Aura Venture Fund I, which has produced a gross
internal rate of return of 33.7 per cent a year since it was launched in 2017.”
“The latest fund, launched in April last year, has been designed to build a diversified portfolio of technology-based companies operating across a range of sectors and which have the potential to generate high levels of capital growth for investors. Investee companies will be predominantly Australian based,” she says.
The fund will consist of 15-20 companies with a term of 6 years from its final closing date and will target an internal rate of return of 30% a year net of fees. The funding into these companies will be pre-seed, seeding and Series A capital rounds. As seed investing carries with it significant risk, the fund receives a disproportionate stake in the investee company, providing for the highest return outcome.
Evergreen’s assessment of the management team Led by Eric Chan, the co-founder and managing director of Aura Ventures, says the manager has a strong team with genuine early-stage investment experience.
Aura will be focusing on technology-led businesses that are providing solutions to problems that are underserved. Technology will be at the core of every business the fund invests in and some of these themes include fintech, e-commerce and sustainability.
According to the company website, “the fund has received unconditional registration as an Early-Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. Registration provides scope for favourable tax treatment for investors, including a 10% offset on invested capital and 100% tax-free income and capital gains.”
