VentureSouth, an angel investment network with a Wilmington chapter, has raised $5 million as part of its fourth sidecar investment fund, according to a press release Friday.

VentureSouth Angel Fund IV reached its target of $5 million which “allows its investors to participate alongside VentureSouth’s nearly 400 members in a diversified portfolio of investments in promising early-stage ventures in the Southeast,” the release stated.

The fund was raised during the pandemic and follows three other funds that used a co-investment strategy and invested in more than 40 companies.

“Despite the inherent risks of an early-stage equity portfolio, angel investors have consistently generated attractive returns when they diversify their investments across a highly diligenced set of opportunities,” VentureSouth Managing Director Charlie Banks said in the release. “However, building a portfolio is difficult to achieve alone, as it requires access to deal flow, investment expertise, portfolio monitoring and support – as well as administrative skill.”

“The VentureSouth sidecar funds provide investors with efficient access to each of those capabilities, enhancing the probability of achieving attractive returns alongside one of the top 10 angel groups in North America,” he added.

VentureSouth started its Wilmington Chapter in 2019. It considers investing in companies that are tech-enabled and have high-growth potential.

The latest fund has invested in 13 portfolio companies since it began last summer including 6AM City in Greenville, South Carolina; PunchList in Charleston, South Carolina.; Live Furnish in Winston-Salem; Coworks in Durham and Pass It Down in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

“The fund will likely add five to seven additional portfolio companies in the coming months as VentureSouth continues its pace of investment,” the release stated.

VentureSouth has more than 300 members in 15 regions in North Carolina and South Carolina and has invested more than $50 million in companies throughout the Southeast.

“Our fourth sidecar fund continues our proven index fund approach to early-stage investing,” Banks said. “Raised during a challenging year, it proves the resilience of VentureSouth and the continuing desire of our members and fund investors to support the top entrepreneurs in the Southeast.”

The Business Journal partnered with VentureSouth in 2019 to launch the Wilmington chapter. Rob Kaiser, publisher of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal and WILMA magazine, is also the director of VentureSouth Wilmington.