Swan Ventures, a boutique venture firm founded in 2000 by Jonathan Parmer, M.D., specializes in fund-of-funds investments. The first fund was designed to give Silicon Valley physicians an opportunity to invest in a diverse portfolio of top-tier venture capital funds with an emphasis on healthcare and biotechnology. The second fund, Swan Ventures II, L.P., formed in 2003, expanded its limited partner base to include high-net-worth investors and institutional investors and slightly altered its investment objectives, with a greater percentage of its investments outside of healthcare. With the financial crisis of 2008, it was decided to put the formation of a third fund on hold. Pursuing a different course, Dr. Parmer founded a women’s healthcare company, Viveve (FKA TivaMed). He has continued to manage the two Swan Ventures’ funds.

Why raise a third Swan Ventures fund now?

First, we believe the timing is right for a venture fund-of-funds. And, equally important, we believe we have the right team to do it. Dr. Parmer’s daughter Kate (who has an MBA from UCLA and has worked in Fortune 500 financial firms for over 20 years, including as Lead Analyst and Director for S&P Global Ratings and most recently as a Senior Vice President for LPL Financial; see bio) is poised to manage Swan Ventures III, L.P., and future Swan funds. Kate has been involved with various aspects of Swan Ventures since its inception.

About our name

Swan Ventures is named for an area in northwestern Montana called the Swan, which includes the Swan Mountain Range, the Swan Valley, and the Swan River. The area, in turn, is named for the Trumpeter Swan, the largest and rarest swan in the world, which nested in the area prior to being hunted to near extinction in the early 20th century. The Swan range, part of the Rocky Mountains, borders on Glacier National Park and forms the western boundary of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The Bob, as it is known, is the largest contiguous wilderness area in the lower 48 states. Its 1.5 million acres of rugged terrain stretches 140 miles without being crossed by a single road. The Swan River has its headwaters in the wilderness and flows through the Swan Valley, emptying into Flathead Lake at the eclectic village of Bigfork, Montana.