Capital flows into venture capital funds from pension funds, university endowments, foundations, finance companies, and high-net-worth individuals. Such investors in venture funds are called limited partners (LPs).
The limited partners provide the capital available for investment, and the general partners provide investment expertise and asset management services in exchange for a management fee and significant profit participation.
Limited partners are often sophisticated, wealthy investors who wish to engage the general partner of a venture capital fund to identify investment opportunities and to make investment decisions for them.