Wall Street Transcript Interview with Michael T. Moe, the Chairman, CEO and President of GSV Capital Corp. (GSVC)
67 WALL STREET, New York - June 24, 2014 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Business Development Companies Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs and Equity Analysts. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: BDC Risk/Reward Profile - Business Development Companies Historical Overview - Internally and Externally Managed BDCs - BDC Dividend Growth - BDC Returns - Strong BDC Fundamentals - BDC and Bank Differences - Competitive Outlook for BDCs
Companies include: GSV Capital Corp. (GSVC) and many more.
In the following excerpt from the Business Development Companies Report, the Chairman, CEO and President of GSV Capital Corp. (GSVC) discusses company strategy and the outlook for this vital industry:
TWST: How do you use marketplaces like SharesPost as part of your investment strategy?
Mr. Moe: SharesPost is both a portfolio company as well as a business partner. We have, in the past, used SharesPost - which is a private exchange - to access shares in top VC-backed private companies. When we started GSV Capital, our thesis was that we would use SharesPost for a majority of the purchases that we make. In reality, we have actually used it for just a small portion of purchases, and that is primarily because with GSV's focus on investing in private companies and secondary shares, sellers find their way to our offices, usually without going to a private marketplace like SharesPost.
TWST: Can you explain that a little bit more? Do the investments literally approach you for financing, or how do you find your investment ideas?
Mr. Moe: It is not literally that they come to us, no. We have a priority list that we create based on our research and our view of the top private companies in the world. We go through a systematic process of how we look at megatrends and look at top venture capitalists, and where they are investing their dollars. Next, we basically have an NFL draft, where we say the number one pick in the world is Dropbox, the number-two pick is Palantir, the number-three pick is Coursera and so forth. Then we make it known to those companies and the people in that ecosystem that we have interest in those shares.
Generally speaking, we give an indication of what price we would be interested in obtaining those shares at. So that's really the process. But once people know that we are interested, we tend to get the e-mails, get the phone calls from sellers. Generally speaking, we do not pursue a company that is not on our priority list. We have already done the work, we know if we are interested in a company, and we know if we are not interested in a company.
TWST: How do you measure innovation as an attribute for a company you would want to invest in?
For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
