Robbie Paul: Icehouse Venture Chief Executive questions supposed gap in capital market

There are concerns that Labour's trying to fix a capital problem that kiwis don't have. 

The party's pitching a $200million Future Fund that re-invests dividends from specified Crown assets,  into businesses and infrastructure projects.

It'll invest solely in local projects. 

Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul told Mike Hosking the policy is agreeable and directionally correct,  but wonders if there's a gap in the capital market. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So to Labour's big day out with a new idea.
So they're calling it this future fund the broad idea
as you sit aside money to fund some capital investment
from you know, the small local idea that might otherwise
head off.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Sure.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Robbie Paul is the CEO of ice House Ventures, and
as well, there's Robbie morning, good morning. Did don't you
do this anyway? Isn't this what you do?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Well? The capital markets do lots of things, and we
invest in tech companies and so that I think is
an interesting provocation, right, like what companies are not evil?
Source of capital that they need? And why?

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yeah? Exactly, because all I saw yesterday was Chris Hopkins
wandering around the room, you know, going do you need capital?
And everyone said no, I'm all sorted, thanks very much.
I mean, is there a capital problem?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Look, I think the overall policy is sort of agreeable
and directionally correct. Is there a problem? I've never really
subscribed that. I say that there's a gap in the
capital market. It's a capitalists and investors are extremely efficient
at finding yield, right, And you know I point out
is that every time we talk to the zeal And
super fun they describe their offshore investments as their fiscal responsibility. Right,

(01:03):
they're going globally to find the best things that they
can invest in.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Exactly, but as far as I can and really broad terms, Robbie,
the world seems a wash with cash for ideas.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, look, great entrepreneurs are you know, they're the customer
in our experience. So I think a lot of people
traditionally assumed that we as investors sit there and you know,
send off companies. It's actually the opposite, where great companies
are being chased by us and investors globally.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yeah, I just can't work out where they're going with us.
Appreciate your insight, Robbie, Paul the ice House bench a CEO,
if that's the best I mean, there's nothing wrong with
the idea. It's like you are you against it? And
now of course I'm not, why would I be, but
but it's already being done and we're happy as so.
It's another word dumpy doo idea from people who aren't
out in the real world, don't understand the real world,
and have come up with sort of a kind of
a nothing. And that's where we get the part. Well, well,

(01:54):
who's in charge and what decisions do you make and
what companies are involved? We don't know, don't know, don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
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