Softbank technology fund executive paid $4m in first 16 months
THE boss of Softbank Investment Advisers UK, which manages the giant Saudi and Japanese-backed technology fund, was paid $4m (£3.1m) during its first 16 months in existence, it emerged yesterday.
Based in London’s Mayfair, the Japanese conglomerate’s Vision Fund operates globally with teams in London, California and Tokyo.
It has invested huge sums in technology. Softbank became Uber’s largest stakeholder earlier this year after a $9.3bn deal pulled off by Rajeev Misra, 56, the Indian-born former Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch financier who oversees the fund.
The $93bn Vision Fund, which has been described as the largest pool of private capital ever raised, is also an owner of Cambridge-based chip maker Arm Holdings. It is a significant investor in tech firms such as satellite start-up Oneweb and co-working group Wework.
According to the group’s first UK accounts, just filed at Companies House, Mr Misra was paid $4m in the 16 months between the company’s incorporation in Nov 2016 and the end of Mar 2018.
Two other directors, Jonathan Bullock and Saleh Romeih, also shared in the $8m paid out. The UK office, based in Grosvenor Street, employed an average of 44 people across the period.
The accounts show the company collected $53.8m in management and advisory fees and made charitable donations in the UK of $211,380.
“The funds seek to invest in the technology sector and catalyse technological progress for the benefit of humanity,” the accounts say.
A spokesman pointed out that the figures paint only an incomplete picture of the fund’s finances. He stressed the accounts solely reflect UK operations and “do not account for other SBIA operating entities”, including those based in Japan and the US. However, they offer a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Vision Fund, which is backed by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It was founded by billionaire Masayoshi Son, the Japanese tycoon behind Softbank.
Mr Misra joined Softbank in 2014 as head of strategic finance. He now serves as chief executive of Softbank Investment Advisers UK.
The accounts show the entity is currently operating at a loss, which for the period from Nov 25 2016 to March 31 2018 stood at $59m. However, the company expects to be profit-making by August 2020.