Direct Capital was established in 1994 and is owned by its executives who have been together since its first fund.

We manage investment into private companies which, by their nature, are difficult for the wider community of investors to access independently.

Investors in our funds are generally large pools of capital that are managed for long term growth. These are investors such as pension funds, insurance funds, community trusts, church groups and Maori trusts.

We raise capital from investors every 4-5 years within specific funds and invest that capital over a period of time into 10-15 private companies. The investment is held indefinitely, benefitting from the long term growth of the company.

In our 16 year history we have raised and managed more than $800 million through 7 funds, including three affiliate programmes.

Both our Direct Capital III and Direct Capital IV funds include investment from Pohutukawa and Pohutukawa II. The Pohutukawa series of funds were established to provide the public a vehicle for investing in private companies. The Pohutukawa funds are managed jointly by Direct Capital and Craigs Investment Partners. www.pohutukawafund.co.nz

Our affiliate programmes were established with joint venture partners to invest in specific industries and in companies that are at an earlier stage of development. Each fund received cornerstone investment from local and multi-national corporate partners.

Our partners in these funds include:

	Craigs Investment Partners Craigs Investment Partners is one of New Zealand's largest investment firms, offering solutions to both private investors and corporate clients.  Craigs is Direct Capital's co-manager of the Pohutukawa series of funds, providing access for retail investors to gain exposure to private company investment.
	Inventages Inventages is one of the world's largest life science, nutrition and wellness focused venture capital firms.  Inventages is a co-manager and investor in BioPacificVentures.
	Nestle Nestle is the world's largest food company and the largest investor in BioPacificVentures.
	Advent International Advent is a co-manager of TMT Ventures.  Based in Boston, USA Advent has offices in 16 countries and affiliates in a further 7 countries, making it one of the world's largest private equity firms.
	Telecom New Zealand Telecom New Zealand is the country's leading telecommunications provider.  Telecom is a corporate partner in the TMT Ventures corporate venture programme, and provided its initial seed capital in 2000.
	Alcatel Lucent Alcatel Lucent is one of the world's leading suppliers of telecommunications infrastructure and technology, particularly in fixed networks.  Alcatel Lucent is a corporate partner in the TMT Ventures corporate venture programme.
	Ericsson  Ericsson is one of the world's leading suppliers of telecommunications infrastructure and technology, particularly in mobile networks.  Ericsson is a corporate partner in the TMT Ventures corporate venture programme
	Carter Holt Harvey Carter Holt Harvey was the corporate partner in CHH Ventures, a corporate venture programme established by Carter Holt Harvey in 2000.