Venture capitalists' confidence, capital commitments, and capital investments

Abstract

Abstract:Confidence among consumers and managers continues to be a closely watched economic indicator. Venture capitalists are essential in the development of many high-growth ventures; however, VC sentiment has not before been systematically tracked. We surveyed VC confidence quarterly since Q1 2004 and find that increasing VC confidence is coincident with increasing VC investment; however, VC confidence decreases one quarter after their increased investment activity, possibly due to buyer's remorse. Additionally, VC confidence decreases one quarter after increasing capital commitments to VC industry funds, possibly due to concern of too much money chasing too few good deals. Keywords