The philosophy of our fund is

• invest our directed investment capital into companies with enabling technologies which will impact business productivity, energy, and the environment; and
• utilize relationships developed through our investments in other venture funds, our Strategic Partners and our Special Advisors, to either identify potential portfolio companies or enhance the value of existing ones.

Investment Information

• Pooled Investments
  
  These are expected to be investments in pooled investment vehicles run by private equity managers with attractive track records. It is anticipated that SPA's network, including that of its Special Advisors, will often provide the Fund with access to these top-performing managers. Numerous potential sources of opportunity exist within this investment area, including buyout funds, capital structure-based funds (mezzanine financing or distressed securities investments), asset-based funds (oil, gas, timber and other natural resources) and venture capital funds.
  
  While each of these sources represents potential investments, SPA anticipates the pooled investment portion of the Fund will be predominately in venture capital funds. The venture capital sector is very broad, financing companies ranging from unproven technological concepts to later-stage companies with established products and experiencing dramatic growth. SPA expects to make direct and indirect investments principally by investing in venture capital funds and co-investing in those venture capital funds' direct investments, expected to include a range of early- and late-stage investments in technology companies engaged primarily in business productivity and education, energy and the environment.
  
  
• Directed Investments
  
  The Fund's strategy includes making direct investments into technology companies engaged in the industries described above, through privately negotiated, direct transactions generally sourced on a co-investment basis. SPA anticipates it will be able to identify directed investment opportunities better than investors could do individually, through its contact network. Given the relatively small size of the Fund, it is expected investments will range from $50K to $300K per company; thus, it is not anticipated the Fund will be a lead or sole investor. The ideal funding scenario is that of an investment round led by a well-known venture capital fund which has already conducted "due diligence" (including management, technology and market-niche evaluations) and negotiated terms, and in which a small investment is permitted. However, the Fund will also invest in "angel" or early seed rounds.
  
  
• Public Equities
  
  The Fund will invest in public equities by allocating the majority of its assets earmarked for this area to a select group of investment managers who have demonstrated expertise in investing both long and short in the technology growth sector of the stock market. In allocating the Fund's public equity capital to a select group of managers, SPA is seeking to capitalize on the emerging, yet highly volatile, technology sector. In general, these investments will be in sub-sectors and industries within the technology sector including, but not limited to: core technology (software, hardware - disk drive, micro computers, devices - chip manufacturers, semiconductors, e-commerce, network connectivity); media communications (satellite, broadcasting, telecommunications, wireless); and medical technology (biotechnology, pharmaceutical services and devices). While the majority of assets will be allocated to managers, from time to time the Fund may make individual public equity selections.
  
  
• Fund Allocations
  
  While the allocation may change with market and financial considerations, it is anticipated that approximately 34% of invested funds will be allocated to pooled investment vehicles, 33% to directed investments and 33% to public equities. The Fund will target a compound annual rate of return on contributed capital in excess of 20% (net of all fees, expenses and carried interest) over the life of the Fund, although there is no assurance these investment objectives will be achieved.