Testimonials: What our clients and partners say

We have been working with Sturgeon Ventures for three years and loved every minute – they are the best of the best. We initially selected them based on reputation, speed and regulatory expertise. But we have stayed with them due to the friendly people, and direct senior engagement. I would wholeheartedly recommend Sturgeon to other start-up funds.

https://www.axiomequity.com

ComplyAdvantage is an AI-driven financial crime risk detection platform with a unique offering for early-stage fintechs. We can help businesses get started with the AML and KYC solutions they need to achieve authorisation, and scale with them as their business grows. Sturgeon Ventures has been an invaluable partner over the past decade, referring circa. 50 firms in their network to us. We look forward to working together closely for many more years.

https://complyadvantage.com

The entire Sturgeon team consistently executes with precision, which enables me to deliver excellent advisory services to my clients.  And, the entire team is an absolute pleasure to work with.

Nigel is a Director and Westlecot Business Consultants is an Operating Company for unregulated work attached to Sturgeon Ventures’ mandates.

“Having worked with a leading Regulatory Hosting Firm as an Appointed Representative Firm,  where we also used their discretionary investment management hosting with a fund, their service was just a pure service offering, whilst Sturgeon is fully integrated in the business of the Incubated Firm”

https://www.robocapfund.com/

Launching a fund is a challenge as you have to navigate across a jungle of service providers and you can provide efficiency in this process. I remember when we met last year. In one meeting you understood what I wanted to achieve and made all relevant introductions. You are an entrepreneur and understand what we are going though. This is key. We went though good and challenging times. I remember when we had the issue with a press release. Having a partner who does not “point fingers” but assumes its responsibility is important.

www.robocapfund.com

I have known Seonaid & the team at Sturgeon for coming up to 10 years, and when we were looking for a Regulatory Incubation partner during the early years of Haven Cove, there was only one phone call we made. Their standalone Investment Manager structure (with no AR) is extremely streamlined & efficient, providing an invaluable integrated platform in the early years of trying to grow a fund. Furthermore, Seonaid and the team have an unrivalled knowledge of their business, a strong entrepreneurial spirit & “can-do” attitude, and a genuine commitment to their partners and clients.

https://thehedgefundjournal.com/tomorrows-titans-2021-nick-greenwood-ashley-hudd-haven-cove/

https://www.havencove.com/

My recommendation to fellow aspiring fund managers is to get a call with Ms.Seonaid Mackenzie, the Founder of Sturgeon Ventures. Through years of experience in empowering entrepreneurs, Seonaid shared some important legal and regulatory points with me and my team which will be very critical to our journey and, even though our business model was not something Sturgeon could directly help with, we were pointed to the right direction and received several valuable introductions. January 2021.

https://www.catfactory.tech

Sturgeon Ventures supported Moelis & Company by providing an ‘umbrella’ UK compliance function for our European advisory practice. This temporary solution enabled our firm to be in a position to provide financial advice to our clients rapidly while, in parallel, Sturgeon Ventures assisted CCL Compliance in applying for our own full FCA authorisation. Sturgeon Ventures worked seamlessly with our US compliance function during both the incubation and transition period. We found their advice and service to be both professional and invaluable for an advisory firm such as ours seeking to establish a UK base in a rapid and efficient manner.

www.moelis.com

We have had the good fortune to have worked with Seonaid and the team at Sturgeon for close to four years now. They have consistently provided intelligent, nimble and high quality support and advice. As a guide to help Research Tree compliantly navigate the fast-changing environment in which we operate, Sturgeon has been first-rate. Thank you to all the team and we are very much looking forward to the further growth of our ongoing relationship.

 www.research-tree.com

Sturgeon helped us get started really fast by providing regulatory cover as the Portfolio Manager. Assisting with implementing process and procedures as the governance team on the Investment Committee so we could launch fast, helping us to operate as a regulated entity, with our own firm as the Appointed Representative to be the advisor and promoter, until such time as we get directly authorised. It was also encouraging that the Sturgeon team took a real interest in our investee companies.

www.forwardpartners.com

Sturgeon Ventures provided us with the Regulatory Framework to launch our fund https://www.finncap.com/slide-rule-fund as the Interim Portfolio Manager and essential compliance functions when the Slide Rule Fund, a UK small/mid-cap fund was launched on the Montlake Platform; whilst Finncap upgraded our regulatory permissions. The team were helpful, friendly and patient, and provided lots of useful advice and help well above compliance duties. Overall, a very positive experience.

www.finncap.com

I have known Seonaid professionally for nearly two decades. There are few people in the industry that look after their clients with the genuine commitment and consideration that she brings to this business. We are not just her clients but we are treated like an extended family.

www.milltrust.com

Sturgeon Ventures has provided continued and sterling support to Eleven for over five years. The team are responsive, thorough and provide a robust yet flexible approach to regulation and incubation. We recommend them wholeheartedly.

elevenadvisory.com

I have worked with Seonaid and her team for some time having been introduced by a mutual contact. Seonaid is incredibly knowledgeable and well respected and I have found the wider Sturgeon team to be professional and, above all, client driven. As a client, it is has been a pleasure working with them.

We were introduced to Seonaid and her team in February 2011, so we could provide un-interrupted service to our investment banking clients. Nine years later, we have advised twenty completed M&A transactions, and we still rely on Sturgeon Ventures to provide us with regulatory cover. The reason is simple: with Sturgeon at our back we can concentrate our efforts on meeting our client needs, confident that we are also meeting fully our compliance responsibilities.

www.pakenhampartners.com

Sturgeon has been with us from the beginnings of our firm. The team not only made sure that we never had any compliance related hitches, they also provided highly valuable advice in various areas of our business development. For us, they are not just compliance supervisors but an important business partner.

www.capstan-capital.com

Walker Morris introduced us to Sturgeon Ventures. Sturgeon incubated us for a short period, albeit our business has been around for 30 plus years. Further to investigation by Walker Morris, our legal advisers, the FCA agreed that our property and loan syndicates were not Alternative Investment Funds (AIF). However our schemes were caught by the Unregulated Collective Investment Scheme (UCIS) rules. As such, we needed an Operator, and our senior management and staff needed to learn how the FCA compliance worked.

Working with Sturgeon Ventures and their team during the incubation and after, has been a rewarding experience. Sturgeon Academy, Sturgeon’s in-house training, taught us many fundamental governance tips that we took back and have implemented into our long-term corporate governance. We were also impressed when different team members have visited us on monitoring visits. Sturgeon’s team members also attended our investor annual meetings; which we believe again, highlights to our investors how compliance and governance is integrated and embraced into our daily business and is part of our culture.

www.helmsley.co.uk

KB Associates has worked successfully with Sturgeon on a number of mandates both Irish AIFs and UCITs using their Man Cos and Self Managed; where we have delegated day to day Portfolio Management to Sturgeon, with advice from its Appointed Representatives. Our joint model has been very effective for start up and established managers.

www.kbassociates.ie

It is always a pleasure to work with Sturgeon Ventures.  Seonaid and her team have a refreshingly creative, problem-solving approach, and are strongly focused on helping clients achieve their goals while understanding their regulatory responsibilities.

www.mms.co.uk

Sturgeon Ventures introduced us to great business partners in Malta and we would recommend them to any start ups in the financial services industry. We have referred them business in the UK and also had business referred to us from their network. I would happily advise to any of our Hedge Fund and Private Equity clients to use the services that Sturgeons services provide. The have a wealth of knowledge but also small enough to provide a very personal touch to each client.

www.howdengroup.com

Apex Fund Services has worked with Sturgeon for almost a decade as a delegated portfolio manager to fund structures in a number of the jurisdictions. Sturgeon are experienced, committed and engaging with start-up and experienced managers from around the world, and we recognise the strengths of their team and value their independence.

www.apexfundservices.com