Process
YFM Group's high deal flow, its status as the most active investor* in the UK smaller company sector and its rigorous investment decision process form a unique combination, enabling the British Smaller Companies VCT to be highly selective in its investment and minimise such risk.
Focused Investing
Through its ten regional offices and over 40 strong investment team, YFM Group considers over 1,500 investment opportunities every year. Our extensive network of contacts throughout the UK is centred on individuals and firms with a track record of successfully developing businesses of the type targeted by the British Smaller Companies VCT. This includes over 100 appointed non-executive directors and mentors, and YFM Group's proprietary non-executive director programme - Business Gurus.
We are very selective in our investment decisions. Only 1 in every 13 proposals during the last year, for example, met our investment criteria and received funding. Typically our investments are structured as loans to companies, with a targeted return of at least 7% a year.
To minimise the risk of individual investments and the portfolio as a whole, it is anticipated that a significant percentage of qualifying investments deriving from the Offer will be made in companies known to the investment team, where the fund managers are confident that there is a high level of capital security.
Continual Monitoring
The process does not end with our decision to invest. We constantly re-evaluate the portfolio and monitor every investment in an effort to ensure that it performs to our expectations. In the majority of cases we will take a seat on the board of companies and often appoint the Chairman. Our own network and proprietary non-executive director programme is an invaluable part of this process.
