SyndicateRoom launches second Twenty8 passive fund with 32 new startup investments

With the value of SyndicateRoom’s first passive investment fund Twenty8-2016 already growing to 108% of its original value, the crowdfunding platform is ready for round 2.

Crowdfunding platform SyndicateRoom has launched the second iteration of its passive investment fund Twenty8, which uses an algorithm to spread capital across companies which are raising cash on its site.

The idea behind Twenty8 is to allow investors to automatically diversify their investments across dozens of startups from all different sectors on SyndicateRoom’s crowdfunding platform, without having to worry about managing the complexities and while targeting a return of 20% IRR including EIS tax relief.

“We built Fund Twenty8 to invest across as broad a range of opportunities as possible, while still offering full access to generous EIS tax reliefs. It’s still early days, but already the results are promising,” said James Sore, chief investment officer at SyndicateRoom.

The second fund has already invested £3.2 million across 32 early-stage British companies, and is open for investment until 1st April 2019.

SyndicateRoom’s first passive investment fund deployed its cash in 2018 and has already seen it grow from an initial £4.55m from 233 backers across 28 investments, to over £4.9m.

Companies included in the second fund just launched include solar energy startup Naked Energy, healthtech firm Pertinax Pharma, and Cambridge restaurant group Cambscuisine, a startup that also issues quarterly dividends to its investors.

Diversification, especially when investing in high-risk assets like startups, is always key. SyndicateRoom’s first Twenty8 fund is already starting to show promise, and time will tell if its second fund performs just as well.

With a minimum buy-in of £10,000 it’s certainly not for everyone, but it demonstrates the kind of investing strategy that all retail investors should look to follow.