Client spotlight: VDK Capital
In the latest Delio client spotlight, we speak to Vasileios Karatzenis, Founder of London-based VDK Capital, about how they are utilising financial technology to bring their vision of a digital and sustainable ecosystem to life.
Can you tell us about VDK Capital; what’s the story of how you’ve got to where you are today?
After more than 20 years of working for some of the world’s largest financial institutions, I found myself reflecting on personal and professional events in my life. I realised that in the next stage of my career, I wanted to combine my passion for investing, nurturing talent and connecting innovative and inspiring individuals. VDK was born out of this; we want our proposition to be an ecosystem for like-minded entrepreneurs and investors to connect, exchange ideas and ultimately create a more sustainable world.
Throughout my career, I have realised that building long-standing relationships with clients is vital. As a result, I had already built an extensive contact book of investors with diverse investment traits and interests. The strength of these relationships afforded VDK a head start in the market, as we had a loyal contact base which was ready to deploy capital.
VDK’s ecosystem is focused on the next generation of investors who are typically between their twenties and late fifties, which tends to mean they have a stronger appetite for innovative investments. This is perfect for us as we are aiming to revolutionise the way people invest, specifically by deploying capital to opportunities with sustainable or purpose-driven objectives.
What have been the main opportunities and challenges you’ve faced in offering access to investments of this type?
Private markets present a unique opportunity for investors. Traditionally, investors could be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of potential opportunities available via the public markets and all the complex data and information that needs to be considered and analysed. The nature of unlisted deals allows us to take our time and get to get to know our potential business partners. It is important to understand where their passion and expertise lies, and tailor our offering accordingly.
VDK prides itself on the type of investment opportunities we’re able to offer our clients. They understand that although investing in sectors that add value to society might be a niche, selecting the right impactful projects can be just as profitable. Our ability to help our clients earn attractive returns on their investments whilst contributing to purpose-driven projects is integral to our values.
The regulatory requirements around private markets are the main challenge to the fundraising process. We’ve outsourced our regulatory governance to Delio and their guidance on how to design robust frameworks that protect us and our clients has been beneficial. It has not only mitigated this challenge, but has also allowed us to focus our attention on accelerating other areas of the business.
VDK works in close partnership with various charities, can you tell us more about this?
Unfortunately in 2020 my brother, Christos, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. His loss deeply affected me and made me reassess my priorities. As such, VDK dedicates a portion of its fees to multiple charities worldwide, as it’s hugely important to us that we give something back to worthwhile causes. VDK works with two UK-based charities, Cris Cancer UK and Pancreatic Cancer UK, in memory of Christos. We hope that his legacy can help save the lives of others fighting cancer.
Sustainability and the environment are also two key areas that we’re passionate about. VDK has previously cooperated with Ocean Bottle, a brilliant organisation that is reducing the carbon footprint people generate by eliminating the need for single-use plastic bottles. Sustainable fashion is also a market that we are looking to enter because this will help to reduce the carbon emissions associated with fast fashion and lower the number of people forced to work in poor conditions for low wages.
From a more technical perspective, what role will Delio’s technology play in helping VDK to achieve its goals?
Delio’s platform is the technological base from which we will build our ecosystem. The configurability that is available is perfect for us, as it allows us to tailor our platform to reflect VDK’s vision. Delio’s experience in private markets distribution also helps us to navigate the complexities of regulation, enabling us to focus on nurturing our client relationships and offering disruptive and diverse investment opportunities.
VDK and Delio share many of the same core values and this was a key consideration for us when we were looking for a partner. We hope that our ecosystem can drive global cooperation in saving our planet, and Delio’s technology and expertise plays a big role in achieving this.
Looking to the future, where can you see VDK in the next few years?
VDK is still very much in its early stages of development, however we have big plans. Our primary goal is to grow our operation by driving engagement with our ecosystem. Building that sense of community is very important to us, so we’ll also aim to encourage referrals from within our existing networks.
Our team will be essential to achieving this. I’m fortunate to have some great colleagues from different professional backgrounds already supporting the business. We are always looking for people with fresh ideas, innovative perspectives and credible experience to add value to our ecosystem.
Ultimately, we want to be a market leader for identifying and enabling investment in exciting ventures that support our vision of a sustainable future. Creating an investment ecosystem that brings innovative and diverse opportunities to the attention of increasingly active investors has the potential to significantly improve the world.
