Financial services companies make up a fifth of the Fortune 500 list of largest and most profitable companies despite, or perhaps because, money is the ultimate commodity.
Understanding, therefore, how the large banks and insurers, as well as other types of financial services firms, such as gambling groups, credit card companies and fund managers, operate is fundamental to better insights into innovation and corporate venturing.
This month’s main feature has taken a slightly narrower view of financial services and concentrated primarily on how the banks and insurers have set up or invested in venture capital, rather than including all the asset managers and pension funds.
What has emerged as the decade-or-so bubble in financial services’ involvement in corporate venturing in developed economies has ended primarily because better relative and absolute returns could be made in other areas.
In a sector where information advantage – the edge – dictates which firm is profitable or gains market share, there are easier and quicker ways than venture capital to make this pay off for most firms.
Obviously, western banks still offer their private banking investors access to entrepreneurs or provide their clearing and lending services to growing companies, but the flood of interest has retreated, leaving specialists and those with their eye on the longerterm importance of innovation and technology.
Few use corporate venturing to find the next wave of innovative products – most use it as an asset class to offer clients, earn extra fees through the occasional deal or cross-selling, or provide some community service.
However, in emerging markets with booming economies and where, as Hans Morris, managing director at General Atlantic and former president of Visa, describes it, "financial services is a luxury product", banks and insurers are increasingly backing venture capital as much as regulations allow.
The long-run benefits of several billion people in Brazil, Russia, India and China effectively joining and competing in the global economy over the past 20 years are still being seen in the number of start-ups and maturing of the financial markets from basic saving and lending to more specialised services, such as institutionalised venture capital.
The emergence of China as the second-biggest economy has lifted more people out of poverty than all the aid since the Second World War, one charity has quipped.
In any market, however, bankers and insurers usually appear to be better at structuring terms and shaving costs than backing specific entrepreneurs over the long term. Performance data has shown banks and insurers are pretty poor at picking good VCs while the litany of spun-off or closed direct investment divisions is a long one.
There are many more successful bankers turned buyout professionals than bankers turned VCs. For entrepreneurs and other VCs, therefore, it could actually be better if the general banks and insurers retreated from widespread venture investing as they seem to drag down the whole sector and provide succour to the unworthy.
Instead, most financial services companies would be better off concentrating more on looking for the strategic benefits that come from corporate venturing, such as the technologies, products and market information that informs other decision-making, than comparing returns with other asset classes or seeking a cross-selling opportunity.
Separately, this month is the start of a partnership between Global Corporate Venturing and US trade body the National Venture Capital Association, whose members can subscribe to this publication at a reduced rate. For $900 rather than $1,800, NVCA members can have one or two users access Global Corporate Venturing’s unique monthly and daily news, data, comment and analysis with a similar discount for further users. For more information about the NVCA and a month’s trial membership of the trade body visit www.nvca.org or (for subscriptions) contact Janice at jmawson@nvca.org and me at jmawson@globalcorporateventuring.com
For details of the forthcoming Global Corporate Venturing awards and workshop, in association with consultant H-I Network, next May, contact me at the above email.