Promoting Venture Capital Market Integrity

Ethical Venture Capital: Principles of Investing

Ascend is the world’s leading proponent of ethical venture capital practices. Ascend’s vision is a set of standard principles of ethical investing in venture capital shared by all investors. That is why we propose to establish the standard through a voluntary code of conduct. Together, the tenets of the code provide a rubric to help decide what is and isn’t acceptable conduct — the first step toward promoting professional behavior throughout the industry. The core tenets of the code are:

Act ethically and with integrity.
Prioritize investors’ interests over personal interests.
Administer job obligations (e.g., investment analysis and recommendations) with care and good judgment.
Act professionally and encourage professional behavior in others.
Strengthen the integrity of capital markets and abide by the rules that govern them.
Sustain and develop professional knowledge.

Learn more about our work supporting venture capital market integrity and promoting ethical venture capital practices that contribute to a more prosperous industry: