Chen Hong led a young man in his thirties who was not tall and wore a 28-part haircut into Lin Fan's office at the Bund Hotel.
Lin Fan came forward and greeted with a smile, "Mr. Fu, please sit down quickly!"
"Mr. Lin, you're welcome!"
The young man was wearing a suit and no tie. He spoke very slowly, but his enunciation was very clear.
This person is actually not Chinese, but a Singaporean named Fu Jixun. He was born in 1968. He graduated from the National University of Singapore. He worked as an R&D engineer and project leader at HP, and also worked as a finance and project manager at the National Science and Technology Bureau of Singapore (NSTB).
Served in the investment department.
Currently, he is a partner of DFJ China Fund. The most well-known example is that he led DFJ China’s investment in Baidu, and currently the other party also serves as a director of Baidu.
Lin Fan had already seen Fu Jixun's personal resume and information sent by Chen Hong and was very familiar with it.
In fact, without looking at the information, he knew that this person was very famous.
After calling on the temporarily hired waiter to serve them two cups of coffee, Lin Fan asked the waiter to leave.
The three of them were each sitting on a sofa, with a coffee table in the middle.
Chen Hong was sitting on the large sofa, with his hands on both sides of the armrests and his legs crossed. With a smile on his face, he was the first to break the calm.
"Actually, Lao Fu is very interested in Lin Capital, and he admires and respects you Lin Fan even more.
However, changing platforms is not a trivial matter. We need to talk more and let everyone get to know each other."
Lin Fan nodded, smiled, and said thank you to Chen Hong.
Then he looked at Fu Jixun and said slowly: "Mr. Fu, Baidu can be said to be a benchmark example in the domestic venture capital industry.
When I chatted with Draper before, he always praised the Chinese team, especially you."
Lin Fan is talking nonsense again. He and Draper, the founder of Draper, have never peed in the same pot. It would be nice if they didn't choke each other when they met.
When Facebook was raising funds, Draper didn't invest in it because he was stingy, but Lin Fan believed that Draper would not look for reasons from himself.
When Tesla's C round of financing came, DFJ made a small investment, and the relationship between the two parties was slightly restored.
But Lin Fan believes that if the Skip bet fails in a few years, the stingy Defengjie will speak ill of him behind his back again.
To be honest, he didn't mean to mess with Defengjie on purpose. It's just that they were unlucky every time. He had to hit the muzzle of the gun. Who's to blame?
Hearing Lin Fan chatting and laughing with Draper, the real boss of Del Fengjie, Fu Jixun had no doubt that he was there.
Because he had also studied Lin Fan carefully and knew that this was a young business leader who was really close to the top of the pyramid. Bill Gates had even invited him to dinner, and he knew Draper, so it was normal.
At the same time, he also knew that DFJ US Fund and Lam Capital jointly invested in Tesla, the electric sports car that caused a lot of noise in Tianya some time ago.
Precisely because he knew Lin Fan's energy, he thought about changing his family background to take his career to the next level.
Hearing Lin Fan praise himself so much, Fu Jixun said a few words of humility, and then slowly got to the point.
"Mr. Lin, I don't know much about Lin Capital. Can you introduce me to it?"
Lin Fan nodded. If you want people to join your company, it is necessary to show your strength.
So, Lin Fan introduced his funds one by one.
Unlike in the past, Lam Capital has already changed its focus. The smallest Rainwater Fund, which invests in the US VC market, has a scale of US$50 million.
Originally, the smallest fund was the Lichun Fund with only US$27.44 million. However, as the valuations of projects such as Tesla, Tudou, and Ganji increased, the scale of management increased a lot.
The largest fund, the fund of funds, has a management scale of US$1.766 billion.
Lin Fan injected all the US$1.5 billion in loans from a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley that pledged 20% of Facebook's equity, the US$228 million with which Skip withdrew, and the US$38 million with which Frame Media withdrew, into the summer vacation fund.
Skip has nothing to do with Lin Fan at all. Frame Media has only received an exit return of 38 million US dollars. The result of the bet has not yet been announced, so only this amount has been accounted for for the time being.
In addition to most of the assets managed by Chushu Fund being cash, there is also a small portion of eaby, a restricted stock of Focus Media.
These equity shares can be held as an asset portfolio, or they can be sold for cash in the future and then injected into major sub-funds.
Fund of funds, also known as funds of funds, Fund of Funds, or FOF for short, is actually a product of investing in other sub-funds.
Fu Jixun nodded repeatedly after hearing this. He had heard media reports on the nine funds of Lin Capital.
However, many of the reports were inaccurate and detailed. Now that I heard Lin Fan speak in detail, I realized how much potential and ambition Lin Capital has.
"Angels, VC, PE, secondary market, fund of funds, it seems that Lin Capital only lacks private credit (private debt), leveraged buyout, real estate investment, infrastructure/energy investment."
After saying that, Fu Jixun said with emotion, "I never expected to see our Chinese KKR, Blackstone, in my lifetime."
Chen Hong looked at Lin Fan's young face and admired from the bottom of his heart, "Yes, only those who have been in the financial industry know how difficult it is to create a world-class Chinese capital in a financial industry dominated by white people!"
"Let me correct you, we are not trying to be China's KKR or China's Blackstone, but we are trying to be the world's Lam Capital!"
Chen Hong smiled, "I know. You can tell from the name you gave the fund that there are twenty-four solar terms."
Lin Fanxun glanced at Fu Jixun and said with a smile: "Mr. Fu, do you now have a general understanding of Lin Capital's capital layout and what it will do in the future?"
Fu Jixun nodded, "The asset layout is very broad, but the core ones are still VC funds and PE funds right now, right? And they are still targeting the technology and Internet fields."
Lin Fan admitted it frankly, because this is what he is best at, and it is also the area where investment yields the fastest results and where it is best to accumulate strength.
Hedge funds, for example, are more speculative. They just grab a handful and run away, which is not conducive to growing industrial capital and truly laying the foundation for a business.
"I heard from you, Mr. Lin, that Lin Capital's PE fund has fully acquired a mobile operating system company, and also plans to invest in the establishment of a mobile phone brand. This seems to be the Buyout (M&A investment) of PE funds.
But that mobile phone operating system is a start-up company with no cash flow, and the product has not even been officially developed. The mobile phone brand has been created from scratch.
This doesn’t feel like the style of PE investment, nor does it look like the style of VC investment.”
The content of Fu Jixun's question was actually a bit over the top.
Lin Fan recruited the other party to be a partner of Lin Capital-Jingzhe Fund. He was responsible for domestic VC investments. Mobile phones and Android were other projects handled by Chushu and Liqiu funds.
However, if the other party is interested in understanding, maybe what they value is the executive position of Lam Capital's entire investment platform, rather than a mere VC fund partner.
So, Lin Fan slowly explained to the other party, "There is indeed no precedent for this. It is my own creation."
"original?"
Fu Jixun was very interested in this and continued to ask questions.
Lin Fan also gave a good answer and drew a super big cake.
"Mobile operating systems will cross-border smart car operating systems or even Internet of Things operating systems in the future? Invest in cars, mobile phones, and even various home appliances and smart wearable devices?"
Fu Jixun whispered while thinking carefully.
Lin Fan's investment philosophy is a bit unconventional and seems to run counter to traditional financial methods.
In his vision, finance seems to be the blood connecting various industrial sectors.
Others either want to make quick money and pay attention to buying low and selling high. This person seems to be playing with Lego bricks, assembling the pieces together through self-creation, investment, mergers and acquisitions, etc., to form a big...
"Lin Capital wants to develop into a consortium?"
Fu Jixun thought of this and subconsciously asked.
When Fu Jixun asked, Chen Hong was stunned for a moment, and then they both looked at Lin Fan.
"No, no~"
Lin Fan waved his hand and didn't even say a few words.
Then he burst into laughter and said, "I'm just giving you an example. The investment direction and post-investment management pay more attention to industrial coordination, and it's not about setting up some consortium or trust.
Besides, what era are we in now? That model worked well in the last century, but now in the new century, those models have long been outdated and will not work."
Lin Fan had had the idea of developing a consortium for a long time, but he canceled it after careful consideration at that time.
Now he left the Lin Group and founded an investment company just to move towards a consortium.
However, he would not admit it.
Hearing what Lin Fan said, Fu Jixun was relieved of many doubts.
Then he started laughing too, it was true that he was thinking too much.
Besides, he knew very well what kind of country Rabbit Country was.
“My idea is to identify several industries with relatively high potential, hold a controlling stake in a core enterprise, invest in the upstream and downstream of the core enterprise, and reap the dividends of an industry.
My purpose is not to rely on monopoly to gain profits. Earning future industry dividends is one, and ensuring the smooth growth of core enterprises is the other.
In short, you have to make money, but besides making money, you also have other side pursuits.”
"Isn't that industrial capital?" Fu Jixun asked.
Lin Fan nodded, "Yes, but the definition of industrial capital is too narrow, because it is only a part of Lin's capital.
Isn’t it a good idea to invest in short-term, quick-to-make money-making projects like Skip and Frame Media? You have to invest in them!”
Fu Jixun immediately understood, and he asked again: "As for the long-term management targets of those core enterprises, if they encounter growth bottlenecks or go downhill, should they be sold?"
Fu Jixun is more concerned about this issue, because from the perspective of general financial capital, there is nothing that cannot be sold.
As long as the financial return is more favorable from the perspective of selling than continuing to operate, then sell.
"Then find a way to break through the bottleneck or transform!"
When money reaches a certain level, it is basically just a number. Lin Fan also has a higher spiritual pursuit, which is to help the domestic technology industry take off and become a true entrepreneur rather than a pure businessman.
He is not joking, but plans to lead by example, launch a few brands of his own, and play a leading and exemplary role.
The reason why he is still desperately trying to make money is that he has not yet achieved "financial freedom". Tesla, mobile phone companies, and Android are still waiting for help.
When the day comes when all pillar industries no longer rely on external blood transfusions, he may no longer be as desperate for money as he is now.
Fu Jixun smiled and said: "Is this also the characteristic of Lin Capital?"
Lin Fan replied calmly: "Unlike ordinary financial capital, if Lin's capital's assets really reach a certain level and a slight loss is no longer a concern, it may do something that will make people eye-roll."
Fu Jixun laughed, "Our leader in Singapore once said that Li Jiacheng is a businessman through and through.
And Mr. Lin, if you reach that point, you might make some different choices?"
"It is not a good thing to bring money into the coffin board or leave too much money to future generations.
My spiritual core is that of a traditional Chinese, who values geese passing by and leaving their voices behind, and people passing by leaving their names."
When talking about Li Jiacheng, Lin Fan looked disdainful.
Today, Li Jiacheng is still regarded as a guest of honor in the Mainland, including his remarks, and is regarded as a model by entrepreneurs and ordinary people.
Niu Gengsheng, an entrepreneur student from the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, was received by Li Jiacheng for three hours and was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.
Fu Jixun smiled and said, "I have one last question. Do most of Lin Capital's funds come from yourself?"
The reason why Fu Jixun asked this was because through chatting, it was easy to deduce which investor would let the fund manager mess around like this.
Only with your own money can you be so willful.
The reason why the other party did not set up a family office meant that it was entirely his own business, but instead approved the skin of a fund. Fu Jixun guessed that this person probably kept a low profile and did not want to attract attention.
Fu Jixun was not yet a member of the Lin Capital team, so Lin Fan did not tell the truth, but replied vaguely: "A large part of it, we can decide the investment areas, exit time, etc. by ourselves, it is very free.
"
Although the details are still unclear, this is already the answer Fu Jixun wants.
He stood up, smiled and extended his hand to Lin Fan, "Mr. Lin, I am willing to join Lin Capital and build an investment institution with characteristics and pursuits together."
Lin Fan held the other person's hand and smiled: "Welcome to join."
Although the verbal agreement has been reached, there are still details such as position, salary and benefits that need to be discussed.
The other party didn't mention it, but Lin Fan had to mention it. Maybe the other party would wait for him to speak.
Before the other party came to meet, Chen Hong had already inquired about it clearly.
As a partner of DFJ China Fund, Fu Jixun not only receives a substantial basic annual salary, but also receives project bonuses, which are the fund's profit share.
20% of the fund's profit belongs to the investment institution, and the fund manager/partner takes a commission ranging from a few points to twenty points from the investment institution's profit.
Defengjie originally offered Fu Jixun a commission of ten points, but because of his meritorious service in investing in Baidu, it was increased to fifteen points.
Lin Fan directly gave the other party an increase of 20 points, which means that after deducting the management fee of a fund, the net profit portion is multiplied by 20% and then multiplied by 20%, which is four points.
Taking into account the existence of management fees, it is actually lower than four points.
It may not seem high, but if the Jingzhe Fund can operate a US$200 million fund and turn it into a billion US dollars within five years, with a net profit of US$800 million, after deducting the annual management fee of 2%, Fu Jixun can personally distribute dividends of US$31.2 million.
Even if the timeline is extended to five years, the average annual income is more than six million US dollars, not including the basic salary. A properly high-paid person is better than the owner of a small and medium-sized enterprise, and there is no need to worry about personal bankruptcy, debt problems, etc.
Wall Street is often exposed to fund managers who earn hundreds of millions of dollars a year. It may be that he helped his own institution earn one billion US dollars and helped investors earn US$4 billion.
In addition, the 2% management fee charged by the fund every year is almost entirely used for first-class travel, five-star hotels, etc. by the investment manager.
In terms of work benefits and benefits, top financial practitioners definitely look down on many other industries.
The reason for such luxury is, on the one hand, to pay less taxes and spend more money; on the other hand, it maintains the quality of its own investment institution, which is conducive to business development.
In fact, if the fund only charges management fees, it will not make a profit, and it will not receive profit sharing, and the investment institution will not be able to operate because the income and expenditure cannot be balanced.
Private equity funds are not large in scale, so their management fees are not high. However, public equity funds/US mutual funds with hundreds of billions in size can still suffer losses throughout the year because the management fees alone are exaggerated.
Under this operating model, if the investment managers/partners of private equity funds want to make big money, they have to work hard to make the funds they operate profitable, and the more profits the better, so that the investment institutions will also make money, and the investors behind them will also make money.
Follow up by counting the tickets.
Everyone is happy!
In addition to appointing Fu Jixun as a partner of Jingzhe Fund, Lin Fan also gave him the title of Managing Director of Lin Capital China.
It can be understood that one is the actual position and the other is the military rank.
Fu Jixun was very satisfied with the position offered by Lin Fan, the salary, and Fu Jixun.
In fact, the position is considered to be the same, and the salary is only increased by one-third.
What he values more is the platform, a platform that is more conducive to displaying his talents.
The foreigner in Del Fengjie distrusts yellow people, but Lin Fan regards him as an overseas compatriot.
