NEW YORK — United States investors rank the nation among the lowest in investor confidence in the “2015 Global Venture Capital Confidence Survey” from Deloitte and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). On the other hand, venture capital fund raising gained momentum and “There is much for U.S. venture investors to be excited about,” says an NVCA exec.
In the survey, investors express doubts the government can enact policies to support domestic venture capital and private equity investment, such as dealing with immigration reform, over the next year.
The survey revealed that of the priority policy areas cited, nearly two-thirds of U.S. investors called for government leaders to address legal immigration reform.
The survey also highlighted positive investor sentiment in emerging technologies such as cloud computing, mobile technology, and the Internet of Things over the course of the next year. Additionally, the global IPO market rose for the fourth year in a row in terms of positive investor outlook.
Despite a hot IPO market and the proliferation of appealing investment opportunities across industries, this data shows that investors believe that the government needs to do more to ensure they can fully capitalize on the prospects ahead,” said Jim Atwell, national managing partner of the Emerging Growth Company practice, Deloitte & Touche, in a statement.
“Technology continues to generate a great deal of excitement on a global level, especially with today’s optimal market conditions and despite the widening gap in governmental support.”
The survey, conducted in May and June of 2015, included opinions of more than 200 venture capital, private equity and growth equity investors in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. It assessed investor confidence in the global venture capital environment, market factors shaping industries, and investments in specific geographies and industry sectors.
Other findings of the survey
The survey, conducted in May and June of 2015, included opinions of more than 200 venture capital, private equity and growth equity investors in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. It assessed investor confidence in the global venture capital environment, market factors shaping industries, and investments in specific geographies and industry sectors.
While immigration reform led among over 60 percent of U.S. investors as a policy issue of focus, only 23 percent of non-U.S. investors expressed the same level of interest.
The survey also yielded varying views abroad for initiatives around infrastructure and job creation, with 41 percent of investors outside the U.S. calling for public leadership to take both those initiatives on in their respective countries. Just 32 percent of U.S. investors called for infrastructure, while 25 percent called for job creation.
Venture capital fundraising gains momentum
U.S. venture capital fundraising continues to gain momentum with U.S. venture capital firms raising $10 billion in new commitments for 74 funds during the second quarter of 2015, according to Thomson Reuters and NVCA. With a 10 percent increase by number of funds raised compared to the first quarter of 2015, and a 39 percent increase by dollar commitments, the second quarter was the strongest three-month period for venture capital fundraising since the fourth quarter of 2007.
“As the global hub of innovation, there is much for U.S. venture investors to feel excited about. The fundraising environment continues to improve, the IPO market is gaining strength and there is no shortage of innovative, game-changing startup companies to take to the next level,” said Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of NVCA, in a statement.
He added, “Yet in spite of all there is to be confident about, U.S. venture investors continue to believe U.S. policymakers aren’t doing enough to enact policies that help strengthen the innovation ecosystem. If policymakers were to proceed with some of the most challenging issues of our time, there’s no telling what we could achieve.”
Despite a moderate first quarter, venture-backed initial public offerings (IPOs) in the second quarter included 27 listings that raised $3.4 billion, according to Thomson Reuters and NVCA. Led by the biotechnology sectors, 19 of the 27 offerings during the quarter were life sciences IPOs, representing 70 percent of total listings in the quarter.
Investors rally around cloud, mobile and the Internet of Things
U.S. venture capitalists named cloud computing the strongest technology investment sector at 4.13, marking its third year as most valuable segment. The survey revealed for the first time that investors within the U.S. expressed virtually the same interest towards investing in mobile technology (4.12).
In a sign of improvement for life sciences investing, venture capitalists gave the biopharmaceuticals sector an average ranking of 3.59 and medical devices and equipment an average ranking of 3.01. Finally, the survey yielded U.S. investors exhibiting the least interest in energy/clean technologies (2.69) and hardware/semiconductors (2.71).
http://www.deloitte.com/us/2015vcsurvey
