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27 November 2025 - Investing in growth – a venture capital investment opportunity for asset owners

Join us at 10:00-11:00 GMT for an online roundtable with European Women in VC.

Posted on Nov 14, 2025

Only members with restricted access (ie. academics, asset owners, government and regulatory, independent advisers/trustees and sponsoring employers) can view this article. Please login or join to view.

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The UK government is sending a strong message to asset owners to invest more in growth to support the UK economy. The Mansion House Accord saw 17 workplace pension providers in the UK expressing an intention to invest at least 5% of their defined contribution default funds in UK private markets opportunities by 2030. Investment opportunities across Europe are emerging at the same time, boosted by supportive policy and government initiatives.

Many of these are being accessed by venture capital (VC) managers, offering strong expected returns and, at the same time, aligning to environmental, social and governance themes being prioritised by institutional investors, such as climate, health and wellbeing, and biodiversity. 

In this online roundtable, we will hear the findings from our recent research, commissioned by EWVC. These indicate a growing interest by asset owners in VC investment, with challenges still to overcome if we are to see institutional capital being deployed at scale. 

Join us for a keynote presentation on the research, followed by breakout room discussions with a mix of asset owner representatives and VC managers. We will consider these challenges and discuss a potential way forward to move the industry on. 

This is a ticketed event with a fee of £199 +VAT per attendee. Attendance is complimentary for asset owners. When registering, an invoice will be issued to the address you provide (not applicable to asset owners). 

Who is this event open to?

This event is open to asset owners such as pension fund trustees, and in-house service providers and VC managers.

Register here

Learn more here

Speakers

Kinga Stanisławska, Co-Founder & President, European Women in VC

20 years+ of investment experience, co-founder of first European VC set up and managed by women. Board Member, Advisor to EIC, angel investor. Co-author of report on role of women in European venture capital.

Karen Shackleton, Founder & Chair, Pensions for Purpose

Karen has worked in the finance sector for over 30 years. As well as being Founder of Pensions for Purpose, she is Chair of the Strategic Investment Board for the Ministry of Justice, and a Non-executive Director and Chair of the Board of Resonance Ltd, a social impact investment company. She sits on the Advisory Council of the Impact Investing Institute.   
 
Karen also provides independent investment advice to the London Boroughs of Islington and Camden through Apex Group. She was the Chief Executive/Managing Director of AllenbridgeEpic Investment Advisers from 2010 to 2013. Before that, she had 10 years’ experience as a fund manager and director for County NatWest and BZW Investment Management (now BlackRock). 

Pensions for Purpose

Pensions for Purpose exists as a bridge between asset managers, pension funds and their professional advisers, to encourage the flow of capital towards impact investment. Our aim is to empower pension funds to seek positive impact opportunities and mitigate negative impact risks.

Our Community allows members to learn from leaders in the impact investment industry. We provide a trusted environment to interact, collaborate and share knowledge. Members engage in a programme of activity to shape their strategy in ESG, sustainable and impact investments.

For more information, please email the Membership Manager.