UK Money Manager Fasanara Raising New Crypto and Fintech Fund

(Bloomberg) -- London-based asset manager Fasanara Capital Ltd is raising a new $350 million venture capital fund to invest in financial technology and cryptocurrency companies, giving it fresh cash to seize opportunities at a time when many investors are sitting out reeling markets.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Meet the Hedge-Fund Manager Who Warned of Terra’s $60 Billion Implosion

• U.S. Stocks Extend Losses in Late Session Selloff: Markets Wrap

• Goldman’s Blankfein Says US at 'Very, Very High Risk' of Recession

• Omicron Is Turning Out to Be a Weak Vaccine

• How Omicron Infection Turbo-Charges Vaccinated People’s Immunity

Fasanara is a data-driven investment firm with more than 150 employees and more than $3.5 billion in assets under management. It provides financing to firms including cryptocurrency exchanges and digital lending businesses. The company has previously raised about $550 million across two venture funds to back tech companies, including consumer-electronics rental startup Grover and buy-now-pay-later company Scalapay.

The company is currently raising its third fund to back early-stage technology startups, and has already held a first close of $100 million, Chief Executive Officer Francesco Filia said in an interview. Unlike previous venture funds, Fasanara’s new fund will be open to new external investors, he added.

Given its background as a hedge fund, Filia said the firm is particularly keen on investing in crypto companies that intersect with trading. Other firms have also sought to bolster their crypto-investing capability, including hedge fund Marshall Wace.

Filia said that the current turbulence in technology valuations is beneficial for his strategy. “As the market goes through a difficult phase we can do better deals,” he said.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• The Tighter Labor Market Is Making Restaurants More Like Factories

• Venture Capitalists Are Aiming to Disrupt Fish Farming

• What Happened When a Wall Street Investment Giant Moved to Nashville

• How Gillette Embraced the Beard to Win Over Scruffy Millennials

• Crypto’s Fall, in Three Charts

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.