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Should Venture Capitalists Put All Their Eggs in One Basket? Diversification versus Pure‐Play Strategies in Venture Capital

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  • April Knill

Abstract

Managing the different companies in which they invest while at the same time performing portfolio optimization for themselves, venture capitalists position themselves as a pure‐play or diversified conglomerate through their cumulative portfolios. I examine the effects of two investment strategies of venture capitalists: 1) a specialist “pure‐play” strategy that maximizes venture capital involvement and 2) a more generalist strategy of diversification at the “firm” level that minimizes portfolio risk. I find that neither strategy optimizes both venture capital growth and time to entrepreneurial exit, which highlights a need for institutional investors to clarify fund objectives at the time a fund is established.

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  • April Knill, 2009. "Should Venture Capitalists Put All Their Eggs in One Basket? Diversification versus Pure‐Play Strategies in Venture Capital," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(3), pages 441-486, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:finmgt:v:38:y:2009:i:3:p:441-486
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-053X.2009.01044.x
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    3. Xiao Hu & Jiayi Wang & Banggang Wu & Taiyang Zhao, 2022. "Specialist or new entrant: Who is the ideal investor for a new venture?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2055-2065, September.
    4. Shawky, Hany A. & Dai, Na & Cumming, Douglas, 2012. "Diversification in the hedge fund industry," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 166-178.
    5. Humphery-Jenner, Mark & Suchard, Jo-Ann, 2013. "Foreign VCs and venture success: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 16-35.
    6. Douglas Cumming & Simona Zambelli, 2017. "Due Diligence and Investee Performance," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 23(2), pages 211-253, March.
    7. Cumming, Douglas & Dai, Na, 2011. "Fund size, limited attention and valuation of venture capital backed firms," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 2-15, January.
    8. Mohammadi, Ali & Shafizadeh, Mohammadmehdi & Johan, Sofia, 2014. "A Signaling Theory Of Entrepreneurial Venture’S Valuation: Evidence From Early Termination Of Venture Capital Investment," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 349, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    9. Azzi, Sarah & Suchard, Jo-Ann, 2019. "Crouching tigers, hidden dragons: Private equity fund selection in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 236-253.
    10. Valerio Vacca, 2013. "Financing innovation in Italy: an analysis of venture capital and private equity investments," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 209, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    11. Douglas Cumming & Na Dai, 2013. "Why Do Entrepreneurs Switch Lead Venture Capitalists?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(5), pages 999-1017, September.
    12. Gejadze, Maia & Giot, Pierre & Schwienbacher, Armin, 2017. "Private equity fundraising and firm specialization," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 259-274.
    13. Humphery-Jenner, M., 2011. "Diversification in Private Equity Funds : On Knowledge-sharing, Risk-aversion and Limited-attention," Discussion Paper 2011-046, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    14. Buchner, Axel & Mohamed, Abdulkadir & Schwienbacher, Armin, 2020. "Herd behaviour in buyout investments," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    15. André Gygax & Anna Griffiths, 2007. "Do venture capitalists imitate portfolio size?," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 21(1), pages 69-94, March.
    16. Obrimah, Oghenovo A., 2016. "How important is innovation for venture capitalists’ (VCs’) market reputation?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 64-76.
    17. Humphery-Jenner, M., 2011. "Diversification in Private Equity Funds : On Knowledge-sharing, Risk-aversion and Limited-attention," Other publications TiSEM 3e22d8a9-6846-484f-a09e-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    18. Matthias Huss & Daniel Steger, 2020. "Diversification and Fund Performance—An Analysis of Buyout Funds," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, June.
    19. Schwienbacher, Armin, 2013. "The entrepreneur's investor choice: The impact on later-stage firm development," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 528-545.
    20. Kenji Fujiwara, 2021. "Strategic investment and industry location in a footloose capital model of economic geography," Discussion Paper Series 224, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University.
    21. Buchner, Axel & Mohamed, Abdulkadir & Schwienbacher, Armin, 2017. "Diversification, risk, and returns in venture capital," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 519-535.
    22. Antretter, Torben & Sirén, Charlotta & Grichnik, Dietmar & Wincent, Joakim, 2020. "Should business angels diversify their investment portfolios to achieve higher performance? The role of knowledge access through co-investment networks," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(5).

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