Venture investment for all

Recently, Atlanta Management Company announced the beginning of the formation of a closed mutual fund for venture investments, whose funding will be Internet projects at an early stage of development. Thus, practically everyone can now invest in nascent Russian startups - the cost of one share is 5,000 rubles.

Atlanta is not the first company to offer such tools on the market. For three years already exists Finam - Information Technologies MIF, which invests in the securities of IT companies engaged in the development of software, Internet projects and other innovative products.

But what are mutual funds and how does this investment mechanism work? What advantages does it give to the investor and what pitfalls can hew on his way? What is the peculiarity of investing through mutual funds in the field of technological and Internet startups?
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What is a venture capital fund?

Venture investment funds are simply funds of shareholders put together for which the management company (MC) acquires shares or shares in Internet projects. The shareholder’s right to a share of the mutual fund’s assets is certified by a security - an investment share that can be sold on the secondary market. As a result of changes in the cost of projects, the value of the unit investment fund also changes, and hence the value of the share (The difference between the cost of buying and selling a share is the income / loss of the shareholder).



It must be said that the observance of the law and the interests of shareholders are monitored by a separate independent company - a specialized depository. She controls the transactions of the Criminal Code and, without her consent, there can be no disposal of the mutual funds. It is important to know that the owners of all the assets of the mutual fund are shareholders. The MC only performs trust management of the financed projects, receiving remuneration for this.

Thus, the venture capital fund is the tool that allows you to invest in several Internet projects at once with a small amount of money.

What are the advantages of investing through a mutual fund?

• To purchase a share, the minimum amount of cash is relatively small (for example, a share in Atlanta costs 5,000 rubles), while in order to buy or invest in an Internet project on its own, a larger amount will be required;
• UIF management and management control are divided between independent companies that are professionals in this field and have all the necessary licenses;
• You can exit a mutual fund by selling shares in the secondary market;
• Mutual funds are strictly regulated by law. The management of the mutual fund is regulated by law down to the smallest detail. The execution of the law is monitored by the Federal Service for Financial Markets. The consequence of such regulation is that currently there is not a single case of "bankruptcy" of mutual funds;
• A mutual fund usually acquires several projects, which makes it possible to gain income from different companies. On the other hand, risks are reduced in this way: if one project turns out to be unprofitable, its losses will compensate others.

What are the disadvantages of UIF?

• The management company receives a remuneration for managing the mutual fund, which is paid at the expense of the property and the mutual fund and reduces the value of the share;
• By investing in a venture capital fund, the shareholder assumes certain risks, since Internet projects are subject to market uncertainty, and no one can guarantee a share growth (besides, such guarantees are prohibited by law);
• The shareholder is limited in project management - for him the management company does it. Thus, many decisions and mutual fund transactions are carried out without the participation of the shareholder.

What are venture capital funds that work with Internet projects on the market?

The mutual fund “ Atlanta Start ” , which invests in shares and shares of small and medium-sized IT companies implementing projects in the field of “Internet and new media”.

At the moment the unit investment fund is being formed, and the minimum amount of funds for the purchase of a share is 5,000 rubles. Preliminary application for the purchase of shares of the fund "Atlanta Start".

Among the projects in which the fund invests:

• “ Internet tricks ” is a place where daily reviews of new interesting websites, programs, news of web 2.0 projects and various opinions about the Internet are published;
• MoeMesto is a service for storing bookmarks and personal information on the Internet;
• " Football Factory " - 3D online football simulator with management elements;

The mutual fund “ Finam - Information Technologies ” , which invests in securities of IT companies.

Currently, it is possible to buy units of this fund only in the secondary market.

Among the projects in which the fund invests:

• “ Mamba ” - A dating and communication system that combines dozens of well-known portals and websites;
• " E-generator " - a service for the implementation of remote projects in the field of advertising and web development;
• Buka is a leading company in the Russian computer games market;
• Ashmanov & Partners is a company that specializes in online consulting and the development of intelligent software.

Thus, a venture capital fund may be suitable for those who want to invest relatively small amounts in innovative projects, but do not have specialized financial education for the implementation of full-fledged asset management.

Questions to the community:
1. What investment tools did you use and what conclusions did you draw from this experience?
2. In which areas should investors invest now, during a difficult economic situation?
3. What else would you be interested to learn about UIF - foreign experience, real investment examples, opinions of authoritative specialists?