Austin Ventures has corralled themselves a heapin' helpin' of a whole different breed -- the nerd herd. The venture capital firm offers funding mainly to software, computer hardware, semiconductor, communications, and business services startups. Focused on investment opportunities in the Southwest (and still with a heavy Texas concentration despite looking outward), Austin Ventures typically invests from $100,000 to $20 million per transaction, usually holds its investments long-term, and almost always takes a seat on the acquired firm's board. Austin Ventures also assists clients in hiring management, setting up compensation plans, and going public.

Nasdaq OMX PHLX (formerly The Philadelphia Stock Exchange and known as the PHLX for short) might think so. Founded in 1790, the exchange claims seniority status over the larger New York Stock Exchange. The PHLX provides electronic and hybrid floor-based trading of equities, options, and futures trading, as well as clearing services. The exchange trades some 7,000 stocks and 2,600 equity options. In 2008 The Nasdaq OMX Group bought the PHLX from a group of investors including Citadel Investment Group, Citigroup, Credit Suisse (USA), Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and UBS for some $695 million. The exchange is now part of the Nasdaq Transaction Services US Group.

InterWest Partners was founded in 1979 and is based at Menlo Park, California. InterWest Partners is a venture capital firm specializing in investments in early stage companies. It makes ongoing capital investments throughout the full range of venture investment stages including development stages. The firm seeks to invest in the information technology companies with a specific focus on systems, enterprise software and services, wireless and mobility, digital media and Internet, datacenter infrastructure, communications, semiconductors, and components; and life sciences companies with specific focus on biopharmaceuticals, drug discovery and tool discovery, medical devices and diagnostics, service, and healthcare information technology companies. Its investments range from $7 million to $15 million over several rounds of financing. The firm prefers to be the lead investor and typically serves on the Board of Directors of its portfolio companies.

Excalibur Fund Managers Limited was founded in 1996 and is based in London, United Kingdom with an additional office in Cardiff, United Kingdom. Excalibur Fund Managers Limited is a venture capital firm specializing in early, mid, and late stage investments. It seeks to invest in medical sciences, biotechnology, and life sciences sector. The firm prefers to invest in companies that bring human medicines or medical devices to the market. It prefers to invest in European companies. The firm prefers to be an active investor and seeks to take a seat on the board of directors of its portfolio companies.

Evergreen Investment Management was founded in 1932 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts with additional offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; Malvern, Pennsylvania; New York, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Richmond, Virginia. Evergreen Investment Management Co., LLC is an asset management arm of Wachovia Bank, NA. The firm provides its services to investment companies; corporations; pension and profit sharing plans; state and municipal government entities; individuals, including high net worth individuals; banking and thrift institutions; pooled investment vehicles; and charitable organizations. It manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. The firm also manages a family of mutual funds, hedge funds, and variable annuities for its clients. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. The firm also invests in the alternative investments markets, typically limiting such investments to private equity, private real estate, commodities markets, and managed futures. For its equity investments, it typically invests in growth and value stocks of all-cap companies, including small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap companies. For its small/mid cap growth portfolio, the firm makes investments in companies with market capitalizations below $6 billion. It benchmarks the performance of its enhanced index portfolio against the S&P 500 index.

Legg Mason, Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Legg Mason, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified group of global asset management firm serving individual and institutional investors worldwide. Its multi-affiliate business model provides clients with a spectrum of equity, fixed income, liquidity, and alternatives solutions, including mutual funds, college savings plans, variable annuities, and separately managed accounts. Legg Mason Company's affiliates operate with investment autonomy, with each affiliate pursuing its own unique investment philosophy and process, as well as maintaining its own investment culture. Legg Mason complements the investment expertise of its affiliates by providing distribution and client service, enabling affiliates to access new markets, new clients, and new opportunities. It also provides shared services, such as operations and technology, accounting, legal, compliance, and marketing, to allow the affiliates to maintain their full focus on delivering sustainable investment excellence.

Iris Capital was founded in 1986 and is based in Paris, France. Iris Capital is a venture capital firm specializing in startup, early stage, late stage, growth capital, acquisition, and developmental capital investments. It also invests in middle market and mature companies. The firm prefers to invest in special situations such as public-to-private or secondary transactions. It focuses on media and entertainment, communications, electronics, and information technology sectors. Within media and entertainment, the firm invests in TV production and broadcasting, music, video games, cinema, publishing, advertising, and technical services and solutions. In communications, it seeks to invest in value-added service providers, telecoms, fixed and wireless operators, equipment, and software. Within IT, the firm invests in enterprise software, infrastructure and storage, security, IT services and ASPs, new technologies, and Internet Services sectors. It primarily invests in companies based in Europe with a focus on Continental Europe (France, Germany, Benelux, and Switzerland) and North America. It typically invests between €1 million ($1.47 million) and €4 million ($6.36 million) per round and can invest up to €20 million ($31.7 million) over the life of the company.

Gemina was established in 1961, under the name of Compagnia Generale Alimentare S.r.l., as a holding company operating in the food sector. During the 1970's, the company took on its current name and started operating as an industrial holding company, and in 1981 was listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. During the '80s, the company launched an investment program in the financial and merchant-banking sectors. In 1996, the company started progressively reducing its financial sector investments, which were no longer considered strategic, and redirected its energies, mainly focusing on the industrial sector. In March 1997, Gemina's partial division, with the establishment of the beneficiary HdP, started gaining effectiveness. Indeed, the shareholdings in the industrial companies present in Gemina's investment portfolio were transferred to HdP. Gemina then concluded the divestment of its financial assets, direct to acquire, by launching, in the second half of 1998, a new investment program:significant quotas of shareholdings in companies, operating in well-established businesses and capable of ensuring a suitable level of soundness to the company portfolio and in medium/small sized companies operating in the production of goods and services and with good development prospects. Starting from 2000 Gemina focuses its activities on directing and controlling its subsidiaries. In the same period Gemina takes part in the privatization of ADR (managing company of Roma’s airports) and develops its core business in the area of airports’ infrastructures. In the meantime Gemina divests its shareholdings in the other subsidiaries and today it holds the 95,76% of ADR shares’ capital that is the most important asset of Gemina’s group.

NEBF, which was established in 1946 as part of an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), is affiliated with the National Electrical Annuity Plan, or NEAP. National Electrical Benefit Fund (NEBF) wants to put some spark into the retirement nest eggs of those in the electrical industry. One of the largest Taft-Hartley pension plans in the US, the fund manages pension benefits for more than 480,000 current or former electrical workers and has more than $11 billion of assets under management. More than 11,000 employers contribute to the fund.

Barclays established its investment banking division in 1986; today, Barclays Capital has offices in more than 30 countries around the world. Barclays Capital is the investment banking arm of venerable European bank Barclays. It provides financing and risk management services for corporate, institutional, and government clients around the world. Barclays Capital is one of the world's most prolific underwriters of fixed-income securities; it provides services for all asset classes. Barclays Capital is also active in private equity, typically committing between $10 million and $200 million per transaction; it has invested in more than 350 companies.

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