Ex-JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker Ryan Holsheimer is starting a new firm that will make early-stage investments and plans to start fundraising over the next two months.
Based in Australia’s Gold Coast, Admiralty Capital Group will seek to invest both locally and internationally, Holsheimer said in an interview. The former Asia-Pacific head of cash equity and equities distribution at JPMorgan in Hong Kong is targeting to close the fund by the end of June and begin deploying capital by the third quarter.
This comes at a precarious time for the venture capital industry, which is struggling with reduced interest. Last year, investors globally funneled $345.7 billion into startups, down 35% from 2022 and the lowest inflow since 2017. In China, venture capital investments shrank to the lowest in four years.
Holsheimer is betting that it will pay off to get in at this point of the cycle since he won’t need to sell right away. “The challenge the VC industry has at the moment is making exits,” said Holsheimer, who’s personally making the largest investment in his fund. “For a company to IPO in some cases, that’s proving difficult at this stage in the cycle.”
The veteran finance professional spent a large portion of his career in Hong Kong, before moving back to his native Australia in 2022 for family reasons and to retire. He said he has now decided to unretire and plans to tap wealthy families in Queensland and his network of senior finance executives — including asset managers, hedge funds and ex-colleagues — for fundraising.
New Venture
While Admiralty Capital will “definitely” be investing in companies in Hong Kong and China, it will also look elsewhere, Holsheimer said. The firm will consider companies ranging from those with only a prototype on their phone to those seeking to raise $10 million to $20 million. It will be focusing on exits from investments in 5 to 7 years.
The firm has already invested in a number of startups such as Asia-based Web3 and blockchain firm BlockTrust along with Feasly, an Australian property technology company. It’s targeting a 20% return a year net of fees, Holsheimer said.
He expects to grow the firm to about 10 people by the end of the year mostly in investment manager roles. “I think if the right people want to be based in Hong Kong, that would be fabulous,” he said.
He also aims to launch a fund of hedge funds later this year, to invest in younger hedge funds, but will focus on the venture capital fund first.
Holsheimer, who left Hong Kong during the pandemic, plans to stay in the Gold Coast for now, but isn’t ruling out a return one day.
“I grew up here, so the Gold Coast is my hometown, but if the stars led me back to Hong Kong one day, I’d be delighted,” he said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
