The Seneca EIS Portfolio Fund is an Alternative Investment Fund, which will provide a portfolio of investments in a mixture of unquoted and AIM-listed growth companies. The target return is 1.6x-1.8x the amount invested, excluding fees. Returns will be focused on capital gains, and investors are unlikely to receive any dividends. The fund is evergreen.

Why invest

Positives

• Strategy: Exposure to a portfolio of growth companies with roughly equal exposure to unquoted and AIM-listed investments.

Issues

• Diversification: Lower than many established EIS funds.

The investment manager

Positives

• Team: Has a wide range of experience, with particular strengths in accounting and corporate finance.

Issues

• Size: Seneca runs a lean team: while it seems adequate for its current level of activity, it is smaller than others of similar scale.

Nuts & bolts

• Duration: The fund is evergreen, with no formal closings, and investors simply participate in the deal flow after investment.
• Diversification: The manager aims to provide at least four investments, although five or six is typical.
• Valuation: Updated quarterly following IPEV guidelines, and reviewed.

Fees

• Fees: A combination of direct fees and company charges. The latter are not charged to AIM investments, while the annual fee is contingent, aligning fees with investors.
• Performance fee: Charged at 20% on aggregate returns over 100% of subscription plus fees.