Oxford capital eis fund
Investor Portal

James Witter

Non-Executive Director
Twitter Linkedin Envelope

James joined the Board of Oxford Capital in 2013 and contributes broad experience of institutional capital markets and private equity fund management.

James joined Kleinwort Benson Limited as a graduate trainee, becoming a Director in 1997 and Head of European Corporate Debt Capital Markets. He subsequently became a Managing Director with Merrill Lynch International and Head of UK Debt Financing before joining Nomura International as Head of UK Capital Markets, where he arranged two innovative Private Equity Collateralised Fund Obligations. In 2007 he joined SVG Advisers, a specialist private equity fund management business and an affiliate of the Schroders Group, where he served as a member of the Executive Management Committee and Head of Investment Advisory and Solutions. Following the acquisition of SVG Advisers by Aberdeen Asset Management, James became Head of European Private Equity Portfolio Management at Aberdeen Standard Investments with responsibility for private equity assets totalling $10bn.

James read Natural Sciences at Cambridge University and has an MBA from London Business School. He is a Cambridge Rowing Blue and also manages his family’s arable farm.

Estimated reading time: 2 min

 

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  1. You could lose all the money you invest
    1. If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
  2. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
    1. Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
    2. Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
  3. You won’t get your money back quickly
    1. Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
    2. The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
    3. If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
  4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    1. Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
    2. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest
  5. The value of your investment can be reduced
    1. The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
    2. These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

 

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.