Where angels tread, at Waiheke

29 October 2008

Where angels tread, at Waiheke

New Zealand’s growing community of angel investors will hold their first annual meeting next week – the Angel Summit.

Angel Association of New Zealand Chair Andy Hamilton says over eighty angel investors are expected to attend the Angel Summit, which will start mapping a path for the continued growth of angel investing, and will tap into international experts for advice.

“Angel investing is relatively new in New Zealand, but has seen significant growth in the United States and Europe over the last decade. We have around 15 angel groups at the moment. If we can match the progress in other developed countries, we will see significant growth in angel investing over the next five years.

“The Angel Summit will discuss the development of the sector. We want to raise the capability and knowledge of angel groups, many of which are at relatively early stages in their maturity and mainly focused on their own issues and challenges.

“As an investment class looking to attract more investors, it is important that newcomers to angel investing have confidence in the practices and methods which make this type of investing unique from others.

“A number of angel investors from Australia will be attending, along with Joe Platnick from Pasadena Angels in Southern California.

“The Australian Association of Angel Investors will report on the development and growth of the investment class in Australia. We share much in common with Australia, so their experiences will be instructive.

“Given the current international investment climate, it will also be interesting to hear how conditions are impacting on angel investing in other countries, and what steps they might be taking to deal with it. From our perspective, this is a great time to be an angel investor – expectations are realistic and it is the time now to be building some global companies,” Andy Hamilton said.

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