(Bloomberg) -- Fidelity Investments has raised $250 million for its first fund dedicated to venture capital investments, pushing the firm further into private assets.
Fidelity Venture Capital Fund I closed with backing from family offices, investment advisers and high-net worth individuals, the Boston-based asset manager said in a statement Wednesday. It will make direct, minority investments in mid- to late-stage private companies in various sectors, predominantly in the US.
The fund has already invested about $31 million in 10 companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, cloud-based infrastructure firm CoreWeave and defense technology company Anduril, Karin Fronczke, portfolio manager and global head of private equity at Fidelity Investments, told Bloomberg News in an interview.
“Where we are in the cycle, valuations are very attractive,” Fronczke said. “We see very good companies at very reasonable valuations.”
Asset managers have been making a big move into private markets in recent years, catering to growing client demand while seeking seeking higher margins than public markets offer.
Fidelity, which managed assets of $5.5 trillion at the end of June, has invested in private companies for over 15 years but mainly through mutual funds that invest chiefly in listed stocks. Through these funds, which will continue taking stakes in private firms, it has deployed more than $28 billion in some 350 private companies.
The firm also manages $27.8 billion in a range of alternative investment vehicles, including private equity, private credit, real assets, liquid alternatives, and digital assets. Last year, Fidelity launched its first interval fund, the Fidelity Multi-Strategy Credit Fund, and its first business development company.
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