Venture Asset Management Initiative

Accelerating investor practitioner understanding of venture asset management in Switzerland and Europe.

Venture Asset Management Initiative

Accelerating investor practitioner understanding of venture asset management in Switzerland and Europe.

The Venture Asset Management Initiative equips finance professionals with a better understanding of the venture capital market.

The Venture Asset Management Initiative is dedicated to accelerating and deepening academic and investor practitioner understanding of, and competence in, venture asset management in Switzerland and Europe. Partnering with Swiss Ventures Group (SWVG), a privately funded group that has become one of the most active early-stage investors in Switzerland, the initiative has been established as an innovation hub to create valuable academic research.

The Venture Asset Management Initiative focuses on:

Research and thought leadership

We aim to expand the general body of knowledge on venture investing and venture asset management.

Education and training

We train the next generation of investment professionals through our annual two-day program.

Community building

We convene academics, venture capital professionals, institutional investors, and entrepreneurs to drive engagement and improve understanding on venture capital asset management.

The Venture Asset Management program

In partnership with SWVG, IMD has created a dedicated annual executive education program for experienced investment professionals that want to deepen their understanding of the venture capital market.

The two-day, in-person program for institutional investors is hosted at IMD’s Lausanne campus. It is focused on building solid foundational knowledge on the risks and opportunities of investing in venture assets and developing a community and platform for peer exchange in Europe.

Dedicated experts from the field will provide insights into the latest research. Participants on the course can expect to gain high quality and actionable insights that will have a direct impact on their interactions with the Swiss and European start-up environments.

Learn more

With this new collaboration, IMD can demonstrate its unique expertise in the start-up area and offer interested parties the opportunity to broaden their knowledge basis around start-ups, understand their requirements, and anticipate their needs.

Karl Schmedders Professor for Finance at IMD

This unique collaboration will accelerate the understanding, awareness, and expertise in venture asset management across Switzerland and Europe. With our unique professional network, we will support bridging the gap between the status quo and the dynamic potential of venture asset management. It is my fundamental belief that our initiative will play a fundamental role in developing and elevating this field.

Mike Baur Chief Executive Officer at Swiss Ventures Group

There is enough innovation and creativity in Switzerland and Europe to compete with other countries in terms of quality of start-ups. Where we lag behind is in the area of funding capabilities. European risk capital is scarcer, there is less risk taking, and we hope through this project to promote venture capital as a new asset class in Europe.

Michel Demaré

With sincere thanks to the Swiss Ventures Group for their partnership

Should you consider venture assets as an alternative investment? – I by IMD

by Maude Lavanchy, Maik Meusel, and Karl Schmedders

Amid stock and bond market turbulence, a new asset category is catching the eye of investors. IMD experts explain the opportunities and the risks.

Higher borrowing costs call for financial prudence – I by IMD

by Karl Schmedders

As the era of ultra-loose monetary policy ends imminently, corporates will need to act wisely and carefully to navigate a treacherous landscape.

Aligning portfolios to net zero and investing in the transition – I by IMD

In conversation with IMD’s Jean-François Manzoni at the Nikkei Global Management Forum, Lombard Odier’s Annika Falkengren talks about the challenges of aligning portfolios to net zero and investing in the transition.

The reality of climate financial risk – I by IMD

by Karl Schmedders, Rick Van der Ploeg

Those who argue that climate change has little to do with macroprudential risk management are offering a counsel of despair. If the 2008 global financial crisis revealed anything, it is that regulation matters, even if it isn’t always politically popular or easily optimized.

IMD Maintenance – MIT Sloan

Patrick Flesner, Michael Wade, and Nikolaus Obwegeser

The potential synergy from pairing corporations with new ventures is promising, but many CVC plans fail to deliver value.

Growth at all costs. Not so fast! There are alternative playbooks – I by IMD

by Jim Pulcrano

For the past 20 years, ‘growth at all costs’ has been the dominant Silicon Valley mantra, with companies foregoing profitability to scale fast and dominate the market. Yet, in a time of more turbulent markets, there’s something to be said for slow and steady growth – with or without large amounts of capital.

Karl Schmedders

Professor of Finance

Karl Schmedders is Professor of Finance. His research and teaching focuses on sustainability and the economics of climate change. He is therefore able to provide key insights on the transition risk arising from the shift to a greener economy and help companies face up to the challenges of potential asset degradation and increasing carbon prices. …

Maik Meusel

Research Fellow

Maik Meusel is Research Fellow at the Venture Asset Management Initiative at IMD in Switzerland.

Raphael Grieco

Research Associate

Raphael Grieco is Research Associate at the Venture Asset Management Initiative at IMD in Switzerland.

Venture Asset Management Initiative

The Venture Asset Management Initiative equips finance professionals with a better understanding of the venture capital market.

The Venture Asset Management program

Would you like to find out more about IMD’s Venture Asset Management initiative? Get in touch with the team