The number of angel investors has grown in the past year but not as much as the industry had hoped.
The Angel Association will head into its second conference in Queenstown on Thursday with close to 500 members.
That, says chairman Andy Hamilton, is about 100 more than last year,
but is well short of the 1000 angels the group was targeting. "There is no doubt it has slowed down as a result of the recession."
Hamilton said there were now more angel groups and New Zealand as a country had better coverage but it had been a tough year for many angel investors with the global financial crisis.
"It has been pretty tough for people's portfolios," he said.
While people's returns from their angel investments had not been as affected, the hit on the rest of their investments meant they were more reluctant to put money into start-up businesses.
"People are more reticent." It also meant angel investors had to spend more time looking after their existing portfolios.
A feature of angel investors is that they usually invest not only money but also time in the companies which they back.
Hamilton said the angel industry had been going for around five years in New Zealand and many of the initial companies invested in had reached the stage where they were expanding overseas.
The association would be bringing in three international speakers to help Kiwi investors better understand the challenges of breaking into new markets.
There will also be a focus on how to better help the public sector's research and development to become more commercial.
Meanwhile, The Warehouse founder and long-time angel investor Stephen Tindall will receive special recognition with an "arch-angel" award.
"When you look at the whole industry," Hamilton said, "Stephen on his own has been a significant enabler and driver in backing New Zealand businesses."
