The Mortgage Collaborative, an independent cooperative network in the mortgage industry, today announced the launch of TMC Emerging Technology Fund LP, a venture capital program funded by a self-selected segment of TMC members to capture opportunities driven by the rapid pace of technological change in the mortgage sector.
Inspired by member suggestions during a CEO Roundtable session last year, the fund will pool member resources to level the playing field with the largest lenders in the mortgage industry who enjoy a scale advantage in sourcing, vetting, acquiring and adopting new technology.
“To stay competitive in today’s market, technology adoption and integration is key. However, the cost of customized technology solutions for small and mid-sized lenders can be prohibitive and can be difficult to scale,” TMC COO Rich Swerbinsky said. “By launching TMC Emerging Technology Fund, we are providing our members with a mechanism to get ahead of the technology adoption curve so they can reduce the cost of manufacturing loans and protect their competitive positioning.”
The fund is designed as a pledge fund to give TMC members maximum flexibility to determine their participation in each transaction based on their specific needs. TMC members will be encouraged to provide hands-on advice and direction to the fund’s portfolio companies. The Fund will seek commercial leverage by organizing and leading a syndicate of fintech-focused venture capital and private equity funds to create significantly more investing capacity – an important aspect of the program’s design.
To help facilitate the launch and management of the fund, TMC concurrently announced the appointment of Asia West, led by Sandy Selman, fund manager for TMC Emerging Technology Fund LP.
Selman previously founded and managed the Asia West Environment Fund LP – a $100 million venture capital program with a unique focus on investing in early-stage environmental technology companies in North America and Europe and growing those businesses into Asia. In his capacity as fund manager, he was responsible for deal origination, leading all due diligence activities and reporting to an Investment Committee based in Hong Kong. In addition to his venture capital experience, Selman has 15 years of investment banking experience and, more recently, spent 10 years as a tech entrepreneur.
“I am especially excited about this partnership with TMC as their members are the actual consumers of the technology in which we plan to invest,” Selman said. “Having the market at the table when we’re vetting deals and helping portfolio companies scale is the key differentiator for this program and positions us to be a sought-after partner by funds with much greater resources thus allowing this fund to punch considerably above its weight.”
