Adam Felesky and Paul Desmarais III have created a fund to invest in the financial technology (fintech) sector.

The Portag3 fund was launched yesterday, and will focus on finding and making early stage investments in promising companies in the fintech sector. Felesky, co-founder and former CEO of Horizons ETFs, is president and will run day-today operations at the fund while Paul Desmarais III, the vice president of Power Corporation of Canada, will serve as Portag3's executive chairman.

Partnership between PFC, IGM and Great-West Lifeco

The fund is backed by a corporate partnership between Power Financial Corporation, IGM Financial, and Great-West Lifeco, which have already made a number of investments in fintech firms such as Wealthsimple, Borrowell, Clearbanc, Koho, and League.

“Our goal with Portag3 is to find the next generation of Canadian financial technology entrepreneurs and help them build global companies,” says Felesky. “We are looking for creative ideas that have great potential. Our vision is to be long-term partners in the businesses we invest in. We will support each of them with our time, mentorship and expertise.”