The business angel portfolio under the European Angels Fund: An empirical analysis

Abstract

This paper analyses the Business Angel (BA) portfolio of the European Angels Fund (EAF), an initiative of the European Investment Fund, which engages in co-investment relationships with experienced business angels across Europe. It uses EIF's proprietary database to shed light on a specific subset of the European BA sector. The first section covers the basic characteristics of EAF's BAs and draws comparisons with existing studies wherever possible. In addition, it provides a basic description of EAF's investment portfolio, outlining the geographical distribution of its portfolio companies and the sector in which they are active. The next section focusses on BAs' investment practices. For example, we take a closer look at the geographical and sectoral investment strategies, and investigate aspects related to investment timing. We also examine the innovative capacity of the investees, by analysing patenting activity during the first years of the EAF program. Finally, a brief descriptive analysis provides an overview of the post-investment growth patterns experienced by EAF's investee companies