Investor Profile: Portage Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Founders researching Portage Ventures funding are looking at one of the largest fintech-dedicated venture platforms in the world. Founded in 2016 by Adam Felesky and Paul Desmarais III, Portage operates as the fintech investment platform within Sagard, the global alternative asset manager with US$47 billion under management. In September 2026 the firm closed its fourth venture fund, Portage Ventures IV, at approximately US$600 million, taking the platform to US$7.0 billion in assets under management and a community of more than 140 portfolio companies across North America, Europe and beyond.

Thesis and focus areas

Portage invests exclusively at the intersection of finance and technology, with a stated focus on wealth and asset management, banking, insurance and payments. Co-founder and CEO Adam Felesky has argued that wealth management is entering the same kind of technology-driven disruption that reshaped banking a decade ago, and that artificial intelligence is being embedded directly into the core workflows of financial institutions. Published theses on the firm's site explore themes such as the next wave of embedded finance, and the firm says it has published 125 expert theses and made 800+ commercial introductions to portfolio companies in 2025. Over the past decade Portage has grown from a single venture strategy into a three-part platform — Portage Ventures, Portage Capital Solutions and a secondaries strategy — designed to back founders from first cheque through later stages rather than handing companies on to other investors.

Cheque size and stage

Portage's own site lists check sizes of $1M–$30M for Portage Ventures and $30M–$150M for Portage Capital Solutions. The venture strategy concentrates mainly on Series A and Series B companies, with roughly 20 to 25 core investments per fund and capital reserved to support the strongest portfolio companies in later rounds. Later-stage and secondary capital is deployed through the firm's separate strategies, so founders raising a first institutional round know exactly which part of the platform they are addressing. Offices across Canada, the United States, Europe and the Middle East give the firm a genuinely global sourcing footprint.

Notable portfolio

Portage's largest early holdings include Canadian fintech standouts Wealthsimple and KOHO, alongside European insurtech Clark and US fintechs Albert and Alpaca. The public portfolio also features Borrowell, Clearbanc, TheGuarantors, Orus, Sanlo, Mogo and Nesto. Recent additions show the platform's breadth: German spend-management company Moss and insurance-sector player Xceedance both count Portage among their backers, with founders praising the team's operational insight and fintech-specific network.

Team

The firm is led by co-founders Adam Felesky, Co-Founder and CEO, and Paul Desmarais III, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman. The venture strategy is co-led by Stephanie Choo, General Partner and Co-Head of Portage Ventures. The platform counts more than 25 investment professionals plus a dedicated value-creation team supporting portfolio companies on go-to-market, technology and cyber, business acceleration, M&A and commercial partnerships.

How to apply for funding

Portage does not publish an open pitch-application form or a founder-facing submission email on its website — founders should not waste time looking for one. The firm routes relationships through its network of financial-institution investors and commercial partners: strategic limited partners in Portage Ventures IV include Broadridge and Fifth Third Bank, and the firm regularly connects them with portfolio companies for commercial opportunities. A warm introduction through that network or the firm's portfolio-founder community is the most credible route in, and the thesis publications on portageinvest.com are worth studying before making contact.