French retail fundraising up by 12% in 2014

Greg Gille
04 March 2015

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French FCPI and FIP retail funds raised €763m in 2014, up 12% compared with the previous year, according to recently released figures from trade body Afic.

France's FCPI and FIP funds allow individuals to directly invest in venture and growth capital vehicles, in exchange for tax rebates. Managed by a range of private equity firms, these funds are often seen as a cornerstone of the French venture capital and small-cap investing scene – although they also routinely face criticism surrounding fees and performance.

With €763m raised across 68 funds, 2014 marked another year-on-year increase: €683m had already been raised in 2013 against €628m in the previous year. That said, FCPI/FIP fundraising had been steadily declining since 2009 in the wake of reduced tax rebates and a tougher economic environment. The €763m raised last year is down by a third on the €1.13bn collected in 2008.

Mirroring the fundraising trend, the number of investors having committed to such vehicles has been on the up since 2013. Overall, 97,000 individuals backed FCPI and FIP funds last year, up 8% from 2013 but down by a third compared with 2008 figures.

Average investments stood at €7,890 in 2014, broadly in line with previous years.

In August last year, Cipio Partners managing partner Roland Dennert told unquote" that market consolidation and more favourable regulation could be opening up a new avenue for direct secondaries of FCPI/FIP portfolios. Read our analysis here.