Never one to shy away from being an early adopter and investor in start-ups… it has emerged this week that Lachlan Murdoch has turned a humble $100,000 investment into $30m, in around 7 years. Not a bad result.
Wondering how he did it and which start-up is delivering the whopping 29,900% return?
The answer has probably already been downloaded from an app store, and sitting on your smartphone. He might even thank you for being a user.
Who would’ve thought a ride sharing app developed in 2009 could be worth around $70b? What an Uber investment!
Murdoch’s investment savvy has mirrored that of the typical angel investor. Some win, some lose. The trick in angel investment is to have more winners than losers, or get 1 out of 10 to shoot the lights out. Consider his share of losers, recall his youthful investment in One.tel with James Packer, or the floundering Ten Network? But the winners have been spectacular – REA Group (home to Realestate.com) a case in point. Investing in disruptors has included Society One – Australia’s largest peer-to-peer lender.
It is not just Murdoch investing; now everyday Australians are being captivated by the innovation mantra. The Turnbull Government has introduced world class tax incentives to attract angel investment into our start-up ecosystem. The measures include a generous tax offset, and CGT treatment. Using the Murdoch example of investing $100,000 in an early stage innovative company and the new tax treatments; he would be entitled to
Putting it simply – he would pickup the $30m capital gains tax free!
Of course there are terms and conditions around all this, and the main one is he would need a Sophisticated Investor certificate at the time of investment to access the tax incentives.
If you are considering becoming an angel investor, get your house in order first and create your sophisticated investor certificate free using Cygura. Visit www.cygura.com.au to find out more
