VortexDNA in New 'Clean Tech' Fund

Christchurch, NZ October 8, 2009. VortexDNA is one of the companies included in The Rutherford Innovation Fund established by Milestone Capital to raise capital to back innovative companies involved in 'Clean Tech'.

The Rutherford Innovation Fund sees the best opportunities for investment being those that benefit from the massive changes being driven by the growth of Clean Tech - products, services and technologies that provide solutions to urgent global problems around energy, water, carbon and pollution.

For forward-thinking investors, Clean Tech is the next big thing. Our world is evolving as innovative companies like VortexDNA develop cutting edge technology to deal with the challenges presented by global warming.

The first mega-trend was the transistor and semiconductor, then came the personal computer and the growth of the internet. The third mega-trend was biotech, medical technology and pharmaceuticals. Clean Tech is next.

Such a revolution in the way we use the Earth's resources in our everyday lives creates investment opportunities for savvy investors, those ready to benefit from the potential of a high growth sector.

New Zealand abounds with Clean Tech ideas; after all, New Zealand has a long history of creative engineering and scientific brilliance. That is why the fund is named after Ernest Rutherford, the Kiwi who was the first person to split the atom and the father of modern nuclear physics.

The Rutherford Innovation Fund is the first managed fund in New Zealand with a focus on Clean Tech. It's a portfolio of private equity companies which include algae fuel manufacturer Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation and carbon sequestration firm Carbonscape.

"This is a new type of capital - action capital," says VortexDNA Director and Milestone Capital principal Nick Gerritsen.

"A lot of people will become wealthy by investing in Clean Tech companies, but it is hard to choose which companies will be successful among the plethora of scientific projects working on new ways for the world to live," Milestone Capital principal Kenji Steven says.

There is huge engineering, scientific and technical skill in New Zealand, waiting to be commercialised. The missing ingredients are the business understanding, the networks, the systems and the capital.

"We have real expertise - between us we have established around 150 companies and learned from the successes and failures," Steven says. Gerritsen is a Clean Tech pioneer in New Zealand and Steven has institutional investment management experience and currently chairs a US$1billion-plus global alternative investment firm.

"Milestone Capital will choose the businesses and then give them the tools and resources they need to ensure global best practice. We will share our global networks and operational skills and put in place good financial systems and best practice in corporate governance to enhance the chances of being successful," Steven says.

"We will prepare them to collaborate with the big strategic players because collaboration is the most efficient way of building smart companies."

Venture capital does not work for these companies because venture capitalism is about cutting a sharp deal and selling on for a profit, Gerritsen says.

"We want to run really fast hand in hand with these creative innovators. It's like high altitude training - taking these companies into an environment focused on performance," he says.

"It's not about one deal - it's about a portfolio of activity which will continue into the future."

For an additional investment edge, Milestone Capital's principals are cornerstone investors and hands-on fund managers. The principals will use their investment knowledge to choose the companies and instil the businesses with their collective entrepreneurial and management experience to nurture and direct the innovators' creative dreams.

This edge reduces the fund risks and gives investors the opportunity to grow their investment while being environmentally friendly.

Other companies in The Rutherford Innovation Fund include Celsias and Intercap Private.

For more information,

phone Nick on 0274 889 836

or email nick@vortexdna.com