Unconventional venture capital

In a very unconventional move, OMERS, a pension fund, will launch its own VC fund. Generally, pension funds are limited partners (LP) in existing VC funds, rather than going out on their own.

But pension funds in Canada tried the LP approach +10 years ago and got severely burned. This left the VC scene in Canada moribund for over a decade so rather than doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result (we all know what that is the definition of!) OMERS is reckoning they can just run the whole show themselves.

Its gutsy and I hope it has its intended consequence of jump-starting Canada’s small, but slowly growing, VC ecosystem.

The nice thing also, due to its heft, OMERS will be able to take an investment through various stages, from seed to an exit, on its own. This creates a lot of stability with the start-up and may encourage it to seek more investors and not go for the quick sale.

OMERS to launch $180-million venture capital fund – The Globe and Mail.