UNH issues report on angel investor market

Globe Staff

Total investment by angel investors in 2009 was $17.6 billion, down 8.3 percent from 2008, according to the 2009 Angel Market Analysis released by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, which has been studying the angel market for three decades.

"The 2009 angel investor market exhibited a modest decrease in investment dollars but little change in the number of investments, while significant changes occurred in the critical seed and start-up stages," the center said in a press release.

A total of 57,225 entrepreneurial ventures received angel funding in 2009, a 3.1 percent increase from 2008. The number of active investors in 2009 was 259,480 individuals, virtually unchanged from 2008, the center said. Software accounted for the largest share of investments, with 19 percent of total angel investments in 2009, followed by health care services/medical devices and equipment (17 percent), industrial/energy (17 percent), retail (9 percent), and biotech (8 percent).

In a statement, center director Jeffrey Sohl said: "The small decline in total dollars, coupled with the increase in investments resulted in a smaller deal size for 2009, a decline in deal size of 11.1 percent from 2008. These data indicate that while angels have not significantly decreased their investment activity, they are committing less dollars resulting from lower valuations and a cautious approach to investing. Significant changes did occur in the critical seed and start-up stage investment landscape."