Prism VentureWorks suspends fund

Needham venture capital firm Prism VentureWorks has suspended its efforts to raise a sixth fund to invest in entrepreneurial start-ups, in the latest sign of a pullback among the limited partners that bankroll venture funds.

Woody Benson, general partner at Prism, cited the reluctance of pension funds and other institutional investors to commit new capital to venture funds at a time when their portfolios have taken heavy losses in the stock market and many are overallocated in alternative assets.

"It's absolutely a brutal time for anybody to be out fundraising," Benson said.
(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)