Firsthand Technology Value Fund

Kevin Landis serves as CEO and portfolio manager, leading investment decisions. Landis has been with the fund since its 2011 inception and is the central figure in sourcing, diligence, and portfolio construction. The firm operates with a lean team structure, and there is no separate investment committee disclosed beyond Landis and supporting analysts.

Firsthand Technology Value Fund is structured as a business development company, a regulated investment company type that allows public listing. This structure was designed to give retail investors access to pre-IPO technology positions, a corner of the market typically reserved for institutional limited partners in traditional venture capital partnerships. The trade-off includes daily liquidity for shareholders but also the potential for the stock price to trade at a discount to net asset value.

The portfolio is concentrated in a small number of private technology equity and equity-linked positions. Holdings have spanned enterprise software, semiconductors, clean energy, and digital health companies. The fund invests directly rather than through third-party venture funds, and its fair-value marks are updated quarterly, often resulting in material NAV swings.

Shareholders voted in May 2024 to approve a plan of liquidation, which would involve selling portfolio assets and returning capital to investors. However, the board has discretion over the timing and execution of any asset sales. The fund is not expected to make significant new investments while liquidation remains the stated course.

As a closed-end fund, shares trade independently of the underlying portfolio value. When the stock price falls below NAV, investors can access the portfolio at a discount; when it rises above, at a premium. The discount has periodically attracted activist investors who push for buybacks or liquidation to close the gap.

Kevin Landis founded Firsthand Capital Management in the 1990s to manage public technology mutual funds, and the Technology Value Fund was launched later as a separate business development company under Landis's leadership. The two entities share key personnel and a San Jose base but operate as distinct legal structures with different regulatory requirements and investment mandates.

The fund has historically targeted late-stage venture rounds, often investing as a minority participant in companies approaching commercial scale or potential liquidity events. It does not run a seed-stage program or operate as an incubator; the focus is on companies with established technology and revenue that remain private.