RIAs Warming Up to VC Investments 

Registered investment advisors (RIAs) are continually in pursuit of novel strategies to offer their clients a competitive advantage in the face of increased market competition, fluctuating investor preferences, and volatile market conditions. Venture capital (VC) investments can provide a combination of differentiation, diversification, potential high returns, and access to developing technology, all of which can substantially augment client portfolios.   

GoalVest Advisory, a boutique wealth firm, recently launched a $50 million Venture Growth Fund specifically designed for RIAs and their clients. The fund provides RIAs access to “blue-chip” venture-backed companies, such as AI, SaaS, climate tech, and fintech firms— opportunities historically reserved for large institutional investors. 

Blair Cohen, CIO of the GoalVest Venture Growth Fund, discussed the increased interest in VC investments among wealth managers, the stage of the investing lifecycle at which RIAs are most interested in investing assets, and the fund’s structure. 

CM What exactly makes venture growth an attractive investment for RIAs? 

 
BC: In the past decade, we’ve seen a major shift in corporate governance, with companies staying private longer and private equity increasingly taking them private. This trend has halved the number of public companies, and when you look at indexes like the S&P 500, a heavy weight is now concentrated in the top ten names. For investors limited to public markets, this makes it harder to 1) diversify across quality companies and 2) find attractive growth investments. 

Venture growth includes companies that, 10 or 20 years ago, might have gone public but are now staying private thanks to ample private capital. Typical companies in this asset class have >$250 million valuations, >$50 million in revenue, >50% YoY revenue growth, and profitability or near-term profitability. 

We target companies within this profile that can achieve a 3x return in 2-4 years, generally with lower risk than early-stage VC. Venture growth provides RIAs a way to go beyond public markets, diversify, capture potential outsized returns, and differentiate themselves from competitors. 

CM: How is your new Venture Growth Fund designed? 

 
BC: Our fund was designed specifically with RIAs and HNWIs in mind. It has a shorter lifespan than most VC or PE funds at seven years, with a goal of returning capital within 2-4 years after it’s called. We keep fees below the typical “2 and 20” and set a lower minimum investment threshold of $250,000, making the asset class accessible to investors who haven’t traditionally had access. This structure makes our fund a strong fit for investors looking to diversify into private markets with a clear, manageable timeline. 

CM: Tell us about the benefits of the shorter investment horizon of your fund compared with the longer lock-up periods in early-stage venture firms. 
 

BC: Our fund is built to deploy and return capital faster. We use a multi-channel sourcing strategy that allows us to invest in traditional venture funding rounds and acquire secondary shares from early investors in companies that aren’t actively raising. This broadens our investable company universe and enables quicker capital deployment. This approach is crucial for our LPs, especially in today’s market where many VC funds struggle to return capital quickly. For us, a viable exit within 2-4 years is as critical as hitting our 3x return target. Our LPs need liquidity, and we’re committed to providing it, unlike early-stage funds where capital can be tied up for a decade or longer. 

CM: How do venture growth funds meet clients’ investor goals? 
 

BC: Venture growth funds provide a unique way to diversify and access high-growth opportunities outside of public markets, where a handful of large-cap companies dominate. Private markets offer a larger and expanding opportunity set, with companies staying private longer and capturing more growth before they go public.  

This is why long-term returns in private markets are expected to outperform public equities, with an added illiquidity premium. By focusing on late-stage companies and employing diversified, carefully underwritten portfolios, our fund aims to reduce risk while offering strong, consistent returns—aligning well with growth-oriented investors’ objectives. 

CM: At what stage of the investment lifecycle are RIAs typically interested in? 
 

BC: Today, most RIAs have had little to no access to private markets, so they’re left navigating the increasingly concentrated public markets. Our fund provides access one or two steps before the public market stage, where companies are still showing strong growth but have also achieved relative stability.  

It’s an important distinction that we are investing in the late or growth stage of venture capital versus the early stage where a large percentage of the investments likely would not be fruitful and take significantly more time to mature and exit. This was done purposely with the RIA client in mind who is not looking to take on more risk or lock-up capital for a decade.  

In short, many RIAs know they need diversification, but they either aren’t sure how to go about it or don’t have access to this asset class. Our fund fills that gap, offering an entry point designed specifically for RIAs to invest at the point in the lifecycle that generally makes the most sense for RIA clients. 

CM: Are RIAs gravitating toward smaller funds, or following wealth advisors and private banks into more blue-chip venture growth funds? 
 

BC: RIAs generally can’t access “blue-chip” venture funds due to high minimums, often in the millions, and even if they could, allocations are limited. However, nearly all of our investments have been in rounds led by or already backed by blue-chip VCs, so we’re able to offer similar exposure without the high check sizes.  

Venture growth also benefits from a “club deal” structure, where multiple investors participate in large rounds, unlike buyouts where one firm takes the entire deal. It’s also worth noting that historically, smaller funds like ours have outperformed larger ones because they’re able to be nimbler in deploying capital.