The percentage of UK pension fund assets invested in the venture capital industry stagnated at under 0.5% in 2000, according to the UK's National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).

Preliminary numbers from the association's annual survey show that investment in venture capital and development stood at £2.8bn (€4.4bn) - less than 0.45% of assets under management of the respondents. This falls far short of UK Government expectations that pension funds act like their opposite numbers in the US and invest 5% of their assets in the industry. However, the £2.8bn represents an 11% increase on pension funds assets invested in venture capital in 1999.