Don't invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.
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Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.
What are the key risks?
- You could lose all the money you invest
- If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
- You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
- Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
- Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
- You won’t get your money back quickly
- Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
- The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
- If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
- Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
- A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
- The value of your investment can be reduced
- The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
- These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.
If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.
| Sector: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Target return: | 3x |
| Minimum investment: | £20,000 |
| Targeted allotment: | Within 18 months |
| Next deadline: | 30 Oct 2025 |
Important documents
| Sector: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Target return: | 3x |
| Minimum investment: | £20,000 |
| Targeted allotment: | Within 18 months |
| Next deadline: | 30 Oct 2025 |
Important documents
The Guinness Founders SEIS fund is a new offering from Guinness Asset Management, one of the largest EIS fund managers.
The fund aims to invest in a portfolio of innovative, early-stage businesses, with a focus on Business Services, Consumer, and Healthcare sectors. Guinness believes it can source deals through referrals from its network of experienced entrepreneurs and founders. It targets companies with ambitious founding teams at the earliest stages of commercialisation, chosen for their scalability, innovation, and high-growth potential.
- Aims to deploy investors’ capital into around 20 companies within 18 months of close
- Target return 3x – not guaranteed
- Minimum investment of £20,000 – you can apply online
- Deadline: 30 October 2025
Important: The information on this website is for experienced investors. It is not a personal recommendation to invest. If you’re unsure, please seek advice. Investments are for the long term. They are high risk and illiquid and can fall as well as rise in value: you could lose all the money you invest.
The manager
Guinness Asset Management was founded in 2003 and now manages £8.8 billion across its equity funds, EIS funds, VCT and an IHT fund (July 2025). It is one of the largest EIS fund managers, having raised over £320 million across its EIS funds since 2010, and launched a new VCT in 2023.
The Guinness SEIS, EIS and VCT funds are overseen by the 16-strong Guinness Ventures team. Shane Gallwey, a CFA Charterholder, leads the team and is assisted by three fund managers.
To date, the Guinness team has committed £3 million across its two EIS funds and the VCT.
Before your subscription is invested, the cash will be held by the custodian, Apex Unitas Limited. Shares will be held by the nominee, GAM MNL Nominees Limited.
Investment strategy
The Guinness Founders SEIS fund aims to invest in a portfolio of innovative, early-stage companies with an investment focus reflecting Guinness’s established expertise in the Business Services, Consumer, and Healthcare sectors.
The fund looks to back ambitious founding teams at the earliest stages of commercialisation, typically pre-revenue or early revenue with each company selected for its scalability, innovation, and high-growth potential. This should lead to the creation of a diversified portfolio of approximately 20 companies – not guaranteed.
Guinness believes its Founders SEIS Fund is well positioned to access high-quality proprietary deal flow through its network of experienced entrepreneurs and founders, who can help identify promising early-stage businesses and support their growth.
If possible, Guinness aims to add deal structuring and syndication.
Portfolio
Investors are expected to receive a portfolio of around 20 SEIS-qualifying companies predominantly across the Business Services, Consumer and Healthcare sectors. Whilst Guinness Ventures has invested over £300 million in EIS-qualifying companies, there are no examples from the portfolio that would have qualified for SEIS at the point of investment.
Performance
As a new fund, the Guinness Founders SEIS fund does not yet have a track record.
Risks – important
This, like all investments available through Wealth Club, is only for experienced investors happy to make their own investment decisions without advice.
SEIS investments are high-risk and should only form part of a balanced portfolio. As must be expected with early-stage investments, some or even all of the companies in the portfolio could fail: the fewer the companies included in the portfolio, the higher the risk of loss if things don’t go to plan. You should not invest money you cannot afford to lose.
There is no ready market for unlisted SEIS shares: they are illiquid and hard to sell and value. There will need to be an exit for you to receive a realised return on your investment. Exits are likely to take considerably longer than the three-year minimum holding period; equally, an exit within three years could impact tax relief.
To claim tax relief, you will need SEIS3 certificates, normally issued once shares have been allotted. This can take several months: please check the deployment timescales carefully. Tax reliefs depend on the portfolio companies maintaining their SEIS-qualifying status. Remember, tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.
Before you invest, please carefully read the Risks and Commitments and the offer documents to ensure you fully understand the risks.
Charges
A summary of the main charges is shown below. Some of these will be payable by the investor, whilst others by the investee companies. The investment may have additional charges and expenses: please see the provider documents, including the Key Information Document, for more details.
| Investor charges | |
|---|---|
| Initial charge | 4.5% |
| Annual management charge | 1.8% |
| Administration charge | 0.2% |
| Dealing charge |
1% |
| Performance fee | 20% |
| Investee company charges | |
| Initial charge | See documents |
| Annual charges | See documents |
The fees and charges above are stated exclusive of VAT, which applies in some cases, as determined by the manager. Please check the VAT position carefully in the provider documents. Any fees and charges payable by the investee companies or the underlying businesses do not directly come out of your investment. However, they will effectively reduce the returns generated by investee companies and therefore impact your investment.
More detail on the charges
When you invest through us, Wealth Club will receive initial commission (4%) and trail commission (0%). These are paid by the provider – there is no additional cost to you.
Investor charges may be deducted from the subscription. This will reduce the amount invested and on which tax relief can be claimed.
Any investee company charges are levied on the underlying companies. They will not affect the amount of tax relief available but can still impact investor returns.
The performance fee applies on returns in excess of £1.00 per £1 invested. Performance fees are calculated on a portfolio basis.
Other charges apply. Please see the provider’s documents, including the Key Information Document, for more details.
Our view
The Guinness SEIS Founders fund seeks to invest in a diversified portfolio of early-stage companies predominantly in the Business Services, Consumer and Healthcare sectors.
The investment team is well resourced and established, having been investing in early-stage businesses since 2010.
Guinness has historically focused on more mature businesses so the SEIS fund marks a notable shift from – and an extension of – its usual investment approach. That said, the manager has shown an ability to attract deal flow and deploy investors capital across its VCT and EIS funds in line with its investment strategy: note past performance is not a guide to the future.
This financial promotion has been communicated and approved by Wealth Club Ltd on 3 October 2025
Wealth Club aims to make it easier for experienced investors to find information on – and apply for – investments. You should base your investment decision on the offer documents and ensure you have read and fully understand them before investing. The information on this webpage is a marketing communication. It is not advice or a personal or research recommendation to buy any of the investments mentioned, nor does it include any opinion as to the present or future value or price of these investments. It does not satisfy legal requirements promoting investment research independence and is thus not subject to prohibitions on dealing ahead of its dissemination.