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Morgan Creek Partners Venture Access Fund I
Mark Yusko's Venture Access Fund I packages institutional-grade VC manager access for accredited investors from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Morgan Creek Partners Venture Access Fund I
Morgan Creek Capital Management operates from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Mark Yusko established the firm after departing the University of North Carolina's endowment, a role that earned him almost two decades of experience in the institutional fund-of-funds model. The Venture Access Fund I reflects that endowment-office DNA — it is not a direct venture fund but a manager-of-managers vehicle designed to replicate the private equity access that large institutions enjoy. Yusko's public commentary frequently frames the product as democratizing venture capital for qualified purchasers who lack the networks or minimum check sizes to reach firms like Sequoia, Benchmark, or Accel directly. The fund commits to venture capital managers across stages, from early-stage funds concentrating on seed and Series A to growth-stage vehicles targeting late-stage pre-IPO rounds. Morgan Creek's parent platform spans traditional and alternative asset classes, but this vehicle narrows the mandate exclusively to venture capital. The manager-selection process applies the same due-diligence framework Yusko used at UNC's endowment — analyzing manager track records through multiple cycles, assessing partnership alignment, and negotiating fee structures that layer the fund-of-funds fee on top of the underlying general partner economics. Geographically the fund concentrates on US-based venture managers, with potential exposure to funds that themselves invest in Asia and Europe. The broader Morgan Creek ecosystem includes the Morgan Creek Digital franchise, which runs dedicated vehicles for blockchain and digital assets under Anthony Pompliano's leadership. Yusko has publicly estimated that the parent firm manages several billion dollars across all strategies, though the Venture Access Fund I's specific size remains undisclosed. In September 2023, the firm maintained its public profile through Yusko's regular appearances on financial media, where he discussed the venture capital reset and the opportunity set for funds deploying after the 2021 peak. What sets the Venture Access Fund I apart structurally is its explicit positioning as an access product rather than a returns-maximization vehicle. Most fund-of-funds emphasize manager selection as the primary value-add; this fund acknowledges that the genuine structural advantage is simply getting into the room with venture firms that have been closed to new limited partners for years. The fee layer is the cost of that admission, and the pitch rests on the premise that the quality of the underlying access outweighs the double-fee burden for investors who otherwise would have no path into those general partners.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Chapel Hill
Corporate office
Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Principals
Mark Yusko
CEO & Chief Investment Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes the manager selection decisions at the Venture Access Fund I?
Mark Yusko serves as CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management and leads the investment team responsible for selecting the underlying venture capital managers. Yusko spent nearly two decades managing the University of North Carolina's endowment before founding Morgan Creek, where he built a manager-of-managers platform that applies institutional due-diligence frameworks to alternative asset classes. His team evaluates venture managers across multiple fund cycles, assessing partnership stability, alignment of interests, and consistency of returns.
How does the Venture Access Fund I differ from investing directly in a venture capital fund?
The Venture Access Fund I is a fund of funds rather than a direct venture capital fund — it pools investor capital and allocates it across multiple underlying venture capital managers. This structure adds a layer of fees (the fund-of-funds management fee and carried interest, on top of the fees charged by each underlying venture fund) but provides vintage diversification, manager diversification, and access to venture firms that typically have high minimum commitments or are closed to new limited partners. For individual investors, the fund serves as a single allocation point to a curated venture portfolio.
What stage of venture capital does the fund target?
The fund commits across the venture capital lifecycle, from early-stage managers investing at seed and Series A to growth-stage managers targeting later rounds. This multi-stage approach reflects Morgan Creek's endowment-style framework, which seeks to smooth the J-curve through vintage diversification while maintaining exposure to the full spectrum of venture economics. The underlying fund selection depends on which managers are raising capital during the fund's commitment period.
Does the Venture Access Fund I make any direct investments?
No, the Venture Access Fund I operates strictly as a fund of funds — it does not make direct co-investments or take equity stakes in operating companies. All capital flows through the underlying venture capital managers that Yusko's team selects. The Morgan Creek platform does have affiliated vehicles, including Morgan Creek Digital, that pursue direct strategies in digital assets and blockchain, but those are separate from the Venture Access Fund I mandate.
How is this fund related to Morgan Creek Digital?
Morgan Creek Digital is a separate business unit within the broader Morgan Creek Capital Management platform, focused on blockchain technology and digital assets rather than general venture capital. Anthony Pompliano leads Morgan Creek Digital, which runs its own dedicated funds. The Venture Access Fund I sits outside that digital-assets mandate and concentrates on traditional venture capital fund commitments. The two share the parent firm's Chapel Hill headquarters and Yusko's overall leadership but operate as distinct product lines with different investment teams and limited partner bases.
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