# Zen Capital & Mergers

Zen Capital & Mergers is a Single Family Office based in Portland, Canada.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Single Family Office
- **Headquarters:** Portland, Canada
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 9260 222 St, Langley, BC, V1M 3T7, Canada
- **Founded:** 2015
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** zencapitalandmergers.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://ca.linkedin.com/company/zen-capital-and-mergers

## About

Stephen Stow established the firm in 2015 after earlier corporate and investment activity dating to the 1990s. The office operates from Langley, British Columbia. Core deployment spans hedge funds, venture capital vehicles, and strategic direct investments in lower-middle-market companies. The firm targets long-only precious-metals managers, select hedge funds, and venture opportunities while maintaining a capital-preservation bias. It participates through informal co-investments labeled Telephone Equity and supplies temporary operating support termed Piloting Expertise. Geographic activity includes Western Canada and prior direct investments in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The team remains small and family-led. Daniel Stow serves as chief investment officer after prior portfolio-manager experience at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. No additional offices are disclosed. The firm maintains a separate philanthropic vehicle, Zen Capital and Mergers Philanthropy, that funds education and water projects in British Columbia, the UK, Kenya, Uganda, and Myanmar. No operational events from the last 24 months appear in public materials. The office differs from typical family offices through its explicit preference for manager co-investments where principals hold large personal stakes in their own funds and through its willingness to provide short-term secondments or board services when ownership thresholds are met.

## Sectors

- Hedge Funds
- Venture Capital
- Private Equity
- Precious Metals

## People

- Stephen Stow — Chairman
- Daniel Stow — Chief Investment Officer

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Zen Capital & Mergers?

Stephen Stow serves as chairman. Daniel Stow acts as chief investment officer after prior service as a portfolio manager at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

### Does Zen Capital & Mergers participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

The firm commits to external alternative managers and also executes direct investments. It favors co-investments alongside known parties through informal arrangements called Telephone Equity.

### What investment stages does Zen Capital & Mergers typically target?

The office focuses on growth or turnaround situations in lower-middle-market companies and on established alternative managers with consistent track records. It avoids traditional private-equity fund structures.

### Does Zen Capital & Mergers maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?

A distinct vehicle, Zen Capital and Mergers Philanthropy, supports education and water projects in British Columbia, the UK, Africa, and Asia. The philanthropic activity is reported separately from investment operations.

### How does Zen Capital & Mergers source proprietary deal flow?

New opportunities arise primarily through long-standing personal networks built over 25 years, with recent emphasis on Western Canada. Managers are often recommended by existing contacts.

### Is Zen Capital & Mergers structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?

It functions as a single-family office that makes both fund commitments and direct investments. It provides temporary operating assistance to portfolio companies but does not raise external capital or function as a venture firm.

## Related profiles

- [Zedra Family Office](https://altss.com/profile/zedra-family-office)
- [Zentia AG](https://altss.com/profile/zentia-ag)

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Last updated: 2026-08-10T15:58:45.833Z

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