Illuminate Financial Establishes Fintech Venture Fund; Deutsche Börse and Markit Lead Round

illuminate financialIlluminate Financial Management, a fintech venture fund established by industry veteran Mark Beeston, today announced that it had closed the first round of capital raising for its new IFM Fintech Opportunities Fund. The investment round has been co-led by financial information services provider Markit and Deutsche Börse Group to invest in the promising early stage fintech companies, according to a release.

Mark Beeston“We are delighted to announce the first close of the Illuminate Fintech Opportunities Fund,” remarked LSE alum Mark Beeston, Managing Partner and Founder of Illuminate Financial Management. “Markit and Deutsche Börse are global fintech leaders whose clients will benefit from the technology firms Illuminate is already backing. We are pleased to have them both as lead investors.”

Since setting up Illuminate Financial Management in February 2014, the company has established a growing pipeline of early stage companies, across all areas of capital markets activity. The IFM Fintech Opportunities Fund is focused predominantly on Series A and Series seed financing rounds.

Lance Uggla“Investing with Illuminate gives us deep insight into technologies and pioneering business models in our space,” commented LSE alum Lance Uggla, CEO and founder of Markit. “We look forward to collaborating with Illuminate to advise investee companies as they refine their business models and define their go-to-market approach. Fostering innovation is a pillar of our business strategy.”

Deutsche Börse also commented:

andreas preuss“The new fund focuses on fintech companies in areas such as compliance, regulation and connectivity, among others, which fits into Deutsche Börse’s growth strategy to extend its service portfolio,” shared Andreas Preuss, Deputy CEO of Deutsche Börse. “Partnering with Illuminate allows us to engage and leverage early stage opportunities that will influence the changing market landscape.”

The London-based venture capital firm focuses exclusively on fintech that benefits capital markets participants.   Illuminate Financial Management invested in the collateral management outfit CloudMargin in February.



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