Swiss Single-Family Office Targets "Venture Secondaries," "Late-Stage Primaries" Sectors

Editorial Staff

25 September 2024

A Basel-based single-family office, , has launched Opportuna, an investment entity that has rolled out a strategy focused on direct “venture secondaries” and “late-stage primaries.”

The SFO has been created by Switzerland’s Lauber family.

(The venture capital secondary market allows investors to sell shares of their portfolio companies before the company has had a proper exit. A late primary allows an investor to commit to a fund that is still in fundraising mode and has already invested in assets.)

Opportuna, which is headquartered in Zurich, is targeting $30 million with its first strategy, exploiting rising demand for liquidity in the world’s venture capital market.

“Venture secondaries, once underappreciated and often misunderstood, are now poised for considerable growth over the next decade,” Infinitas Capital said in a statement.

The investment vehicle is set to be fully deployed within five months, with a first fundraising deadline set for December.

Infinitas Capital said the venture secondaries market is rising. Over the last decade, the growth of venture assets has outpaced exits via initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, causing a backlog of $3 trillion of “unicorn value” across the US and Europe. Investors are increasingly turning to venture secondaries to access liquidity in an environment where traditional exit opportunities are being blocked off.

Dissatisfied with what family offices have access to, Infinitas Capital decided to incubate its own strategy – Opportuna.

“Venture secondaries have consistently delivered better risk-adjusted returns compared to primary venture capital investments, due to factors such as mature asset exposure, value-adding liquidity, and the ability to capitalise on supply-demand mismatches in the market,” Robin Lauber (pictured), CEO and co-founder of Infinitas Capital, said.

“Recent reports indicate that venture secondary pricing reached a 10-year low in 2022, and investor participation in this asset class has almost doubled in the past four years. With market volumes at historic highs in the first half of 2024, experts predict a doubling in volumes over the next five years,” he said.

Besides Robin Lauber, other figures at the family office include partners Davide Ottolini, Christopher Chuffart, Michael Vermueulen, and Lea C Henzgen, according to the organisation’s website.

The Lauber family built its wealth in the property market. Robin Lauber is a third-generation heir, and has already been involved in a number of investment ventures.