Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Tech Coast Angels Formally Announces New Fund, ACE

Angel investing group the Tech Coast Angels has officially announced its new investment fund, the ACE Fund, as the group has begun to broaden out its investments strategy. According to the Tech Coast Angels, the Angel Capital Enterpreneurial Fund (ACE) 1 will give private and institutional investors access to investments that would otherwise only be available to experienced angel investor. The TCA said that the fund will help members benefit from the "collective wisdom" of the Tech Coast Angels, will allow investors to diversify their portfolios, and will simplify the process of raising funds for entrepreneurs. Among features of the fund, are a limit of one percent for operational expenses, a liquidity provision which allows TCA members to trade their shares on the event of a hardship, a small investment minimum of only $30,000, and 10 percent carried interest--which is distributed to TCA members. The TCA said it will invest in a minimum of ten entrepreneurial enterprises. No details on the size of the fund was announced, however, the group has earlier said it has targeted the fund at around $5-6M. The Tech Coast Angels has recently started to see a number of prominent exits for the firm, including a successful IPO in recent weeks of Monrovia-based Green Dot, which may rank as the most successful investment yet for TCA investors.