Sean Holland

Commencer Capital Pty Limited has acquired IEC Funds Management Pty Ltd, the fund manager of the $60 million Investec Emerging Companies Australia Fund 1 (IEC Fund), from Investec Australia Limited.

The fund has been renamed ‘Commencer Capital Emerging Companies Fund’.

Commencer Capital is a newly established funds and investment management business majority owned by David Phillips, the founder and current fund manager of the IEC Fund.

Commencer Capital is also backed by the Alteris Financial Group, which is a 30% shareholder (and an existing investor in the IEC Fund), with the remaining 20% owned by an offshore investment company backed by a high-net-worth investor.

Joining Commencer Capital are the majority of the existing Investec Emerging Companies team, including Sean Holland, Shane Simon and Alexander Corder. In addition, the existing Investment Committee will remain, including independent members Cliff Rosenberg, Garry Hounsell and Ben Sebel (Ben also acted as co-Fund Manager of the fund for the previous 18 months). Jeff Law, former head of Power and Infrastructure Finance at Investec, will also join and will also act as co-Fund Manager alongside David Phillips.

Simultaneous to the acquisition of the management rights to the Commencer Capital Fund, the Commencer Capital shareholders have committed an additional circa $14 million of new capital into the fund as part of a second and final capital raising (bringing the FUM to $60m). Between the Commencer Capital shareholders and the Investment Committee members, their aggregate investment in the fund will be close to $26m. Investec will also remain as the single largest investor in the Commencer Capital Fund at circa $17m. The fund manager will now also complete a second and final fund raising – targeting total FUM of $90-$100m.

David Phillips, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Commencer Capital, said: “In 2018 we started the Emerging Companies fund to work with and invest alongside new and exciting early-stage Australian businesses. Since that time, the fund has supported eight companies with an average investment of greater than $4 million in each.

“With the strong support of our shareholders we are now able to continue the good work and legacy under the Commencer Capital banner.”

Since its launch in late 2018, Mr Phillips added: “The new capital invested into the fund by the Commencer Capital shareholders, as well as additional capital to be raised, will ensure it is well placed to add to its diversified portfolio and support its existing portfolio companies as they continue to grow and seek additional capital.”

The fund will retain its tax advantaged ESVCLP status as part of the Australian government’s venture capital regime that supports investment in early-stage innovation being developed by Australian companies and their founders.

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Dilip Sankarreddy

Afiniation (The FinTech Network) is pleased to announce the names of a further 12 FinTech companies that will be presenting at its Melbourne Showcase on 14 April, 2016.

Jillian Upton, co-founder of Afiniation, said: “The Australian and New Zealand FinTech community is bringing world-class solutions and innovations to the financial services industry and we’re delighted to be showcasing some of this exceptional talent at our Melbourne Showcase.”

“The perception is that FinTech is something very niche and confined to areas like peer-to-peer lending and robo-advice. The reality is that FinTech has the potential to touch every aspect of our daily lives. Over 200 FinTech companies in Australia and New Zealand have already joined Afiniation, and the number of FinTech opportunities out there is limited only by the imagination of what is possible, something that will be made clear at the Melbourne Showcase,” said Upton.

The 12 additional innovators presenting are:

1. Proviso
2. Macrovue
3. Plencore Wealth
4. Fincast
5. Swipe
6. QuietGrowth
7. Financial Choice
8. Coredination
9. BigFuture
10. CXI Software
11. TradeTrust
12. Australian Corporate Bond Company

Quotes from the Innovators:

Dilip Sankarreddy, QuietGrowth founder & CEO – “QuietGrowth is delighted to be part of the Afiniation Showcase Event. The idea of regularly showcasing FinTech innovations in this way and supporting our efforts to grow is invaluable. QuietGrowth will demonstrate how our online investment management solution adds an important new service to the asset management industry.”

Luke Howes, Proviso co-founder & CEO – “We’re excited to present at the Afiniation Showcase in April. We consider this type of event crucial in helping FinTech companies like Proviso gain wider exposure within the financial services industry. While we already have over 170 lender and broker clients in Australia and New Zealand, we’re only at the beginning of the influence and innovation that is possible in loan origination. We’ve been approached by banks and other FinTech startups for other applications of our technology and we look forward to the Afiniation Showcase helping accelerate more of these opportunities for collaboration.”

Andrew Connors, Fincast MD & co-founder – “Fincast is thrilled at being included in the demo line up for the Afiniation show case. It’s perfect timing as it coincides with the launch of one of our new applications, our Adviser module. Demonstration days such as the Afiniation Showcase are a fantastic opportunity to talk about the unique aspects of our award winning applications.”

Donald Hellyer, BigFuture co-founder & CEO – “BigFuture is excited to be selected to present at the Afiniation Showcase.  We have just released Version 2 of BigFuture.com.au and Afiniation offers us the opportunity to showcase our new capabilities. BigFuture.com.au has stepped up markedly in providing financial institutions a way to develop digital relationships with their clients.  I really enjoy the Afiniation symposiums, seeing what is new in the market and catching up with colleagues as we face the challenges and excitement of FinTech.”

David Phillips, Plencore Wealth Director & CEO – “After 10 years in the making, Plencore Wealth is unveiling a new consumer category for the world market –  Personal Financial Mapping (modelling). People need tools to understand their total financial situation and examine how one future change in lifestyle, assets, or any financial variable will affect everything, as all are interconnected. All existing products treat individuals as investment portfolios and use extrapolated results. Plencore’s completed underlying Wealth Mapper Engine offers extraordinary benefits of engagement, education and collaboration to advisory and institutional partners, with the first online version presented as its consumer face – Financial Mappers.” 

The presenters announced last week were:

1. Bitcoin Group
2. SuiteBox
3. Ignition Wealth
4. Smartbit
5. Kikka Capital
6. Pin Payments
7. Boomeringo
8. Billsumo
9. Estate Baron
10. ThunderMaps
11. Impos
12. Tappr
13. Simply Wall St

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