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Forbes
17-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Visionary Investors: Why Vision Matters More Than Chasing Founders
Reema Khan - Founder | CEO - Green Sands Equity. In today's investment landscape, the allure of backing visionary founders often overshadows the importance of cultivating genuine vision within investors themselves. Investors often rely on founders' visions, chasing market trends based on promising pitches and compelling data. In contrast, I've noticed visionary investors embrace a holistic grasp of the future, catalyzing systemic change and inspiring mindset shifts that harmonize with a coherent and constructive tomorrow. My interest in this topic stems from my own journey as an investor committed to aligning capital with purpose. It is also a reaction to the mind-numbing slogans at many VC shops thoughtlessly pandering to founders. The Role Of Visionary Investors I believe visionary investors are not just financial backers—they are cultural and technological architects. They direct capital toward the creation of worlds that do not yet exist, often bridging multiple sectors under a unified worldview. For example, J.P. Morgan (1837–1913) didn't just finance industries—he helped stabilize them, shaping American capitalism to withstand crises. Morgan consolidated railroads for efficiency and helped organize U.S. Steel and General Electric. He played a key role in stabilizing markets during the panic of 1907, acting as a de facto Federal Reserve. I think Morgan's legacy lies in reshaping industries and creating national champions that transformed the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) mastered industry and redefined wealth. With Carnegie Steel, he helped fuel the growth of railroads. After selling to J.P. Morgan, he invested his fortune in education, founding over 2,500 libraries, Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Institution for Science. His legacy is one of transforming wealth into a philosophy of capital, with his famous credo: 'The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.' AI And The Limits Of Data Without A Worldview Some may be wondering if, given the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), investors should bother cultivating a visionary mindset at all. AI's strengths lie in pattern recognition, momentum tracking and detecting groupthink or echo chambers that can mislead human decision-makers. Yet despite its power, AI operates without a worldview. A worldview is more than information. Humans form worldviews through growth, contradiction, responsibility and the passage of time. AI does not experience the world; it processes it. AI cannot feel awe, pain or passion. It cannot wrestle with moral ambiguity or make choices based on a sense of identity. It can describe how water tastes, but it can never truly taste it. This matters deeply in investing. Visionaries don't just predict trends—they assign meaning, choose alignment and act with conviction. Balancing AI And Human Vision Visionary investors today must integrate the best of both worlds: the massive analytical power of AI with the irreducible depth of human imagination. AI can surface patterns, identify anomalies and accelerate insights, but it cannot create with intention or lead with purpose. I believe visionaries use AI not to replace their intuition, but to sharpen it. This partnership can be powerful. For example, we are funding post-doctoral research exploring how large language models (LLMs) can analyze trends in biotechnology research to detect convergence, breakthroughs and shifts in scientific inquiry. This gives us a window into the evolving edge of collective human consciousness—what we're asking, where we're looking and what might be coming next. Yet even here, the decision of what to support, what to scale and what future to build rests not on the AI—but on the investor's vision. Crafting Your Vision So how can investors begin to craft a meaningful vision? Here are four suggestions: Clarify what truly matters to you, beyond returns. Whether it's equity, innovation or resilience, your values are the compass for your investments. Don't just follow where the market is going; imagine what the world needs 20 years from now. Build your thesis around that. Every investment is a statement of belief. Everything that exists in this world today first existed in a mind. What legacy are you building through your portfolio? Competition helps build great products; cooperation helps build great civilizations. Founders often thrive in competition, pushing boundaries and racing to market. But visionary investors must embrace cooperation: sharing insights, aligning visions and collaborating across sectors to shape enduring systems and cultures. Long-term progress is rarely built in isolation. We all have to make some smart bets to get the privilege of making bold bets. Many wait too long to embrace this new role for themselves. In venture capital, internal rate of return (IRR) is measured at the time of exit or at the end of a fund's life. The true visionaries are already among us, but we may fail to recognize them because their work is still unfolding. We may be stunned when it comes time to calculate their IRR—especially in impact—years down the road. By then, we will be living in a new world they quietly laid the foundations for. The Quiet Builders Of The Next World Founders of startups certainly have vision, often deep insight into their domain of expertise or field. The great ones can even see how their innovations ripple out to impact adjacent industries or shape society at large. Yet, investors should not abdicate their own vision, outsourcing foresight to founders and hoping disparate ambitions will somehow converge into a cohesive future. I think vision remains the most vital and sought-after force in investing. To lead with purpose, investors must commit both capital and intention, crafting a vision that is both thoughtful and their own. When founders and investors bring their visions into alignment, the result is not just capital backing an idea, but a shared commitment to building a coherent and transformative future. The true nature of visionary investing involves composing the future. This is not just capital allocation but world-building. The information provided here is not investment, tax, or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
IOL News
26-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Sirius Real Estate acquires more industrial property in Germany for R267. 4 million
Sirius CEO Andrew Coombs says the company, which owns branded business and industrial parks in Germany and the UK, currently has the flexibility and resources to continue to make accretive acquisitions. Image: Supplied Sirius Real Estate's share price increased 3.18% on the JSE Thursday after the owner of branded business parks said it had acquired a light industrial property in Geilenkirchen, Germany for €12.9 million (R267.4m). The acquisition was in line with Sirius' 'strong acquisition pipeline,' the group management said in a statement. The share price increased to R23.37 on the JSE in the afternoon, continuing a rise in the price over three months, when it was trading at R20.19. The acquisition comes a day after Sirius announced it had secured a new €150m unsecured revolving credit facility, with an initial three-year term, and with the option to upsize by up to an additional €100m. The additional funding would allow the company to continue to take advantage of current market conditions and its strong acquisition pipeline, as well as managing cash balances efficiently as it passes through bond refinancing windows. The Geilenkirchen asset was acquired by way of a sale-and-leaseback transaction, with a precision engineering business that specialises in processing sheet metal using laser technology, which had entered into a triple net lease on the entire property. The acquisition reflected a net initial yield of 9.3% on a property that is less than 25 years old, Sirius' management said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The property is west of Düsseldorf, 33km from Sirius' existing site in Aachen. In close proximity to the Belgian and Dutch borders, the area is one of Europe's most dynamic economic regions, benefitting from a strong industrial base. Meanwhile, as part of the ongoing UK portfolio optimisation, Sirius also exchanged contracts for the disposal of a small non-core asset in Huddersfield to an individual, for £1.55m. The transaction was concluded at a 7% premium to the asset's most recent book value and reflected a disposal yield of 8.1%. CEO Andrew Coombs said the acquisition provided them with a well-located asset at an attractive yield, and further strengthened their footprint in the Euregio Maas-Rhine industrial region. He said with that Geilenkirchen also home to a NATO airbase, the acquisition may benefit from defence investment, particularly after news this week Germany's defence spending would head towards a new target of 5% of GDP. The acquisition follows the Reinsberg and Monchengladbach acquisitions announced earlier this year. "We have the flexibility and resources to continue to make accretive acquisitions at this opportune point in the market cycle," said Coombs. Visit:
