🚀 Launching “Venture & growth capital in Europe” report. 🔗 Pension funds, hear us out!

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Quote of the day: "It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen."— Scott Belsky (Entrepreneur)

We are excited to present our new first-of-its-kind study “Mapping Pension Funds’ Attitudes to Venture & Growth in Europe” developed by Venture Connections, European Women in VC and Pensions for Purpose. This report explores why the connection between pension funds and venture capital is weak today. And, most importantly, how to change it.

🌟 We have partnered with the most relevant voices in the ecosystem to deliver the pulse of the topic of the hour.

A huge thank you to our Report Partners: Atlantic Vantage Point (AVP), Eurazeo, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), Climate-KIC, EIT Digital, EIT Urban Mobility, perfORM Due Diligence Services and Siemens Energy Ventures for your strong support of our work and the agenda, and thank you to European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research & Innovation for the supportive collaboration!

Join the conversation here

🇪🇺 The status-quo: Europe’s €3 Trillion Pension Opportunity 🫆

🫵 The Funding Gap

Across Europe, pension funds manage over €3tn in assets, yet only roughly 0.12% is allocated to venture and growth capital (VC). Meanwhile, VC investment in Europe totalled €15bn in 2023.

These numbers together highlight two persistent questions: can allocation to VC be compatible with the fiduciary duties of pension funds? If so, why has the historical aggregated allocation of pension funds to this asset class been so modest?

The contrast with the 🇺🇸 United States is stark: US pension funds commit over 100 times more to VC relative to Europe. This under allocation is not just a missed financial opportunity, it risks leaving Europe dependent on foreign capital for the very companies driving its future competitiveness in AI, clean energy, and biotech .

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“Europe’s competitiveness and sovereignty depend on accelerating innovation. That means unlocking the big pools of long-term capital held by our institutional investors.” – Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commission

🔋 Why It Matters

Aside from the financial opportunity, mobilizing pension capital is not only about returns but also Europe’s sovereignty and innovation capacity.

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“Exposure to innovation-led growth, arguably the only source of growth, is increasingly critical for long-term pension performance.” – Industry Perspective

The report underlines three strategic reasons why pension funds should step up:

Diversification & Resilience: Venture is a long-duration, uncorrelated asset class. Properly structured, it can add stability rather than excess risk.
Climate & Impact Alignment: Pension trustees increasingly face pressure to support the energy transition, innovation in healthcare, and digital sovereignty. VC is the natural financing channel for these priorities.
Sovereignty & Growth: Without local pension capital, the growth of Europe’s unicorns often depends on American or Asian investors, exporting strategic value outside Europe.

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Pension funds should help savers benefit from the value created by European innovation, while supporting long-term economic renewal. Europe’s pensions hold €3 trillion. Only 0.12 % reaches venture capital. Redirecting just 1 % could unleash tens of billions for breakthrough growth.

❌ Barriers Holding Back Capital

Perceived risk and lack of expertise inside pension schemes.
Liquidity concerns and regulatory uncertainty (the “Prudent Person” rule is cited as unclear compared to the US ERISA model).
Regional disparity: Due to lack of even regulation and alignment across countries.

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Regional disparity is high: The Nordics invested €345m in 2023, leading Europe, while Southern, Central & Eastern Europe just committed €25.9m combined.

👉 Inside the Report: KIC’s Take on VC Allocation

Our Findings, in a Nutshell

✅ Emerging Solutions

Despite the barriers, several national initiatives and case studies show that pension capital can be mobilized successfully:

🇫🇷 France: Tibi Initiatives I & II. Designed to channel billions into tech and innovation by encouraging institutional investors, though to date insurers have been more active than pensions
🇬🇧 UK: Mansion House Compact & Accord. A landmark agreement encouraging UK pension schemes to allocate at least 5% of assets to private equity and VC
🇩🇪 Germany: WIN Initiative. Aims to broaden participation in VC, with a strong focus on women in innovation and entrepreneurship
🇮🇹 Italy: CPD-led ecosystem building. Strengthening connections between pensions, government, and innovation ecosystems

👉 Inside the Report: Creandum (Sweden) - Case Study

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“Without robust frameworks, VC risks being seen as too risky or too complex for pension portfolios.” – Report Findings.

👉 Inside the Report: Identified Trends in Pension Funds’ Allocation

🏃🏽‍♀️The Way Forward

The report distills its findings into four strategic pillars for unlocking pension capital:

📚 Build internal capacity: Many pension funds lack the expertise to assess VC. Strengthening in-house knowledge and tools is essential to evaluate managers and monitor investments.
⚖️ Regulatory clarity & guidance: Europe needs a framework similar to the US ERISA 1979 ‘Prudent Person’ reinterpretation, which legitimised VC/PE as part of diversified pension strategies.
💡 Shift mindset: from cost to value, VC should not be seen as an expensive niche.
🤝 Democratise access: Smaller pension funds face natural size barriers (average EU VC fund is <€60mn). Pooling capital through fund-of-funds (FoFs) offers a practical, efficient entry point.

👉 Inside the Report: FoFs Key Insights

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The research shows that with the right tools, clearer fiduciary guidance, stronger internal capabilities, and well-designed investment vehicles, pension funds can unlock billions for Europe’s innovation economy while delivering on their core mission: long-term retirement security.

Key Takeaways

👉 Further considerations

🏦 Massive allocation gap: 0.12% of EU pensions in VC vs ~30% US alternatives.
🌱 ESG, diversification, and long-term returns are the strongest motivators.
🔄 FoFs are the gateway: spreading risk, outsourcing expertise, enabling scale.
🚧 Main barriers: internal capacity, perceived risk, and patchy regulation.
📢 Policy momentum is real, but pensions need capacity-building and long-term frameworks to make VC mainstream.

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“Only by catalysing more institutional investment into venture can we fuel the step-change innovations in technology that transform industries, unlock outsized returns, and make lives better in Europe and beyond. This was the theme of our 2024 report ‘Venture as the most impactful asset class’.” – Kinga Stanislawska, EWVC

✍️ Closing thoughts

Europe doesn’t lack capital, it lacks conviction. Even a small shift of pension money into VC could unlock billions for startups, create jobs, and strengthen Europe’s innovation economy. The time is now. 🙌🏼

Empowering Equity 2025 – Register Now! 🌟

Are you an LP or a GP looking to make an impact through gender-smart investing? This is your opportunity to join the movement shaping the future of equity and inclusion in Europe.

What: EIF’s flagship event on gender-smart investingWhen: 15 October 2025Where: Chambre de Musique – Philharmonie, Luxembourg City

Why Attend?

Exclusive Insights: Learn about EIF’s enhanced due diligence process tailored to promote diversity.
Expert Access: Engage in one-on-one meetings with EIB and EIF experts.
Strategic Networking: Connect with a powerful community of LPs, forward-thinking investors, policymakers, and emerging talents.
Real Impact: Be part of a growing community that drives change in the investment landscape.

Learn more & Register here

🙌🏼 People who inspired us lately

Kitty Mayo

Kitty Mayo, now CEO of Project Europe, is setting out to reshape the European tech landscape, leading a €10 million early-stage fund backed by ~200 VCs and entrepreneurs. 🧭 According to a recent Sifted profile, she “got less support than expected” from the wider ecosystem, especially as critics challenged gender representation and questioned whether Europe really needed another seed fund.

👉 Read her latest interview here!

🤑 Latest Fund News

Outlast fund raises a new pre-seed and seed vehicle! 🚀

Riga and Stockholm-based venture capital firm Outlast Fund has announced the close of its first fund at €21 million to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups across the Baltic and Nordic regions.

👉 Read more here!

Funding news⚡

🇬🇧 Scindo raises a new round!

Industry: Sustainability | Location: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Funding: €4.5M

London-based Scindo, co-founded by Juliet Sword, lands a €4.5M round co-led by Kadmos Capital and Clay Capital to accelerate its sustainable ingredients platform.

👉 Find more here.

🎧📚 What are we reading and listening to?

🔵 Brunch with Balderton’s Rana Yared

In Sifted’s profile, Balderton’s first female GP Rana Yared reflects on her journey from Goldman Sachs to European VC. Her candid remark, “I had a higher tolerance for garbage before,” captures both the challenges and the resilience needed for women at the top of venture.

👉 Read more here.

🔵 NBER study: The failure penalty

A 2025 study finds women founders are 30% less likely than men to get funded after a failed startup, and when they do, they raise 53% less. Men, in contrast, often benefit from prior failure. A stark reminder that bias still shapes outcomes - and why reputation systems need reform.