Portage Ventures (“Portage”) is a venture investor that partners with some of the world’s most innovative financial technology companies. Portage is the venture capital arm of multi-asset class alternative investment firm Sagard. It was cofounded in 2016 by Paul Desmarais III (Executive Chairman and CEO of Sagard) and Adam Felesky (CEO). Since then, we have built an extensive global ecosystem with differentiated reach and insight in many geographies worldwide to support deal flow and post-investment support through talent, capital and network.
A global footprint
Portage has grown to become one of the global leaders in the early-stage fintech venture space and steadily increased its geographic reach in the United States and Europe with:
• A seasoned team of fintech investors and expert operators based in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Paris, Singapore and London
• 62 investments made in 13 countries as of December 31, 2021
• Over 100 strategic LPs from around the world, including institutional investors, pension funds, family offices and financial institutions
A global and thesis-driven approach to fintech investing
We invest globally across key fintech verticals, including asset management, insurance, consumer and small business finance. Our focused, thesis-driven approach drives our outbound strategy and enables us to show differentiated depth when we interact with entrepreneurs. It strengthens our standing in the market, as demonstrated by our ability to onboard new and returning investors from one fund vintage to another.
Our aggregate AUM has grown to US$3.3B1 as of December 31, 2021, including Portage Fund I, Portage Fund II and Portage Fund III (“Portage III”), our latest and largest vintage to date and one of the largest early-stage fintech-focused venture funds in the world. Portage III brings exciting opportunities to deploy competitive capital all the way to Series C and allows us to be a long-term partner to our portfolio companies through the growth stage and beyond. Portage’s five largest portfolio investments by fair market value as of December 31, 2021, in Portage Fund I and Portage Fund II, are Wealthsimple, KOHO, Clark (Germany), Albert (US), and Alpaca (US)2.
A thought leader in innovation and transformation in financial services
Portage delivers value above and beyond financing to portfolio companies and LPs. We have created a unique fintech ecosystem with deep industry experience and a powerful, global network.
Access to seasoned advisors and an expert value creation team in growth, enterprise sales, cybersecurity, and commercial partnership opportunities accelerate portfolio growth. The value creation team has helped generate some 50+ commercial partnerships between our LPs and portfolio companies, $220M in enterprise value created as of December 31, 2021, and $22M in partnership revenue in 2021.
Our LPs also derive significant strategic value through actionable information and insights on fintech trends, market developments and investment analysis.
A global team led by seasoned fintech investors
Our team is led by six partners with investing and operational experience across all aspects of fintech, several of them being former founders. We are also strongly committed to diversity within our team and investments. We have set targets to further make our team and our company portfolio more inclusive of underrepresented groups.
Our culture is one of innovation, entrepreneurship, rigor, collaboration, humility and respect. These values are part of our core DNA; our team lives by them and carries them through our relationships with our partners – entrepreneurs and investors alike.
1 The aggregate AUM referenced above is an estimate and subject to formal and final release which is expected to be on or about March 31, 2022. Assets under management referenced above is the sum of the net asset value of venturecapital funds, including uncalled capital commitments of those funds and unused leverage, and the fair value of assets held in co-investment vehicles managed by Sagard and uncalled capital commitments of those co-investment vehicles. This definition of assets under management is not based on any definition contained in our fund management agreements. Furthermore, our calculation may differ from the manner in which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission defines “Regulatory Assets Under Management” on Form ADV and from the similar definitions used by other asset managers.
2 Any reference to portfolio investments contained herein are for illustrative purposes and may not be representative of all portfolio investments. It should not be assumed that any portfolio investments referenced herein are or will be profitable upon disposition.
