What if one could only choose one venture capital fund?
17 September 2026
The best venture capital funds screen thousands of companies a year and invest in very few. The problem isn't finding them. It's getting in.
In our last post, we wrote that the recipe for venture is simple, but difficult to realise. Here are the three elements:
Venture fund of funds
Many of the best venture capital funds are still located in Silicon Valley, even though more and more really good Nordic, European and Asian funds are emerging.
By investing in a “fund of funds”, you typically pool around 15 funds and thus more than 1,000 portfolio companies. This provides both extreme selection and wide risk diversification. Our data indicates that the value of this diversification – and thus access to more unicorns (“power law”) – more than outweighs the additional cost.
2. “First quartile”
If we are to highlight one parameter, it is the underlying quality of the funds. Overall, we aim to be in the top quartile of all venture funds. This requires the right network, built up over 40 years, as these funds are normally “by invitation only”. For the last 12 years, we have had access as an authorised fund manager.
3. Continuous investment over a number of years
Timing is both important and difficult. Some years are good to invest in, others are good to sell or float. Therefore, invest continuously across vintages and funds – it typically takes seven years to create a unicorn. A typical investment horizon is 3-6 years, and the optimal approach is to participate in a couple of funds that are staggered in time.
Although the return is typically paid out continuously, venture is an illiquid asset class with a horizon of 8-15 years before it is fully realised. Therefore, venture should only make up a smaller part of the portfolio, depending on wealth, age, etc.
It is our hope that more investors will wake up to venture as an asset class and, alongside us, invest in companies of the same calibre as SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, Databricks and Zetwerk – INDEN they are floated on the stock exchange.
DKK 750,000 is the legal minimum amount to invest in this type of fund. This is a requirement to ensure that investors are qualified and understand the level of risk.
No, you are free to choose to invest a higher amount if you wish. However, the total size of the fund is a natural limit and allocation is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Payments are made on an ongoing basis as the fund makes its investments - typically spread over 3-4 years. For example, a total investment of DKK 1 million can be distributed in instalments of DKK 250,000-350,000 annually, depending on the structure of the fund.
Payouts typically begin 1-2 years after the investment period has ended, i.e. in year 4 or 5. The timing and amount depend on the fund's performance, market development and other conditions. There is no guarantee of return and the investment should be viewed as long-term.
Some funds have a lifespan of 6-8 years, while others can last up to 14 years.
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