A group of five entrepreneurial students at the Williams School of Business, Bishop’s University, has launched Pericles Asset Management, the first Canadian for-profit student-managed venture capital fund that will invest in small businesses in Quebec.

Graduating students Erik Desrosiers and Samuel Saintonge, along with third year students Chris Carlyle, Alexi Lachambre, and Christopher Bell have been working on the initiative for the past 12 months, supported by a board of directors and an executive partner group comprised of experienced venture capitalists, consultants, bankers, and entrepreneurs.

“A unique characteristic of Pericles is the fact that students are accountable to provide attractive returns to real investors,” explained Saintonge, co-founder and manager of Pericles. “Pericles will offer debt and equity financing to small businesses and fledgling entrepreneurs who do not fit the traditional financing model. We will also invest in real estate in the Eastern Townships,” said Saintonge.

The idea came after Saintonge, Bell, and Desrosiers saw the success of another student-managed fund they have been involved with over the last two years. This fund, the Seed Portfolio, which manages a portfolio of North American equities, has been outperforming the its TSX/S&P benchmark consistently since it was created in 1998. The Seed Portfolio returned 20.12% for the year ending March 31st 2006.

Pericles is financed by private investors and students will adopt a hands on investment approach, meaning that they will play an active role in their portfolio companies.

“Managing the fund allows students to gain valuable practical experience in business, which complements what they learn in the classroom”, said David Rittenhouse, a retired consultant and investor who sits on the board of directors of Pericles and acts as Director of the Dobson-Lagassé Center for Entrepreneurship at Bishop’s University. The Bishop’s University professor explained that fund managers work with research assistants – younger students that have yet to amass the required experience and course load to make investment decisions – and prepare them to take a management role after 12 to 18 months involvement with Pericles.

Pericles is the managing company acting as General Partner to Pericles Growth Fund LP, a limited partnership registered in Quebec.

Heenan Blaikie, a leading Canadian law firm, generously contributed to the initiative by creating the legal structure. Assistance was also provided by Montreal-based asset based lender Brome Financial Corp. and Toronto-based venture capital fund XPV Capital Corp.