First Angel Network, the Halifax-based organization for angel investors, has formally announced a partnership with the Wilmington Investor Network of North Carolina, under which the members of each group will be invited to invest in the other’s portfolio companies. 

FAN said in a statement today that most major cities have organized networks of angel investors, but this alliance creates Canada’s first formalized partnership with a U.S. network of angel investors. 

“This partnership is exciting because it opens the door for shared deal flow between our accredited investors from Atlantic Canada and North Carolina,” FAN Co-Founder and Director Ross Finlay said in a statement.

The press release said the arrangements will allow each groups’ members private access to each other’s investment meetings and that they would share insight into angel investment best practices.

“Atlantic Canada has a lot of very interesting companies so formalizing this partnership increases our ability to see well-vetted deals and share our networks,” said Michael Cain, managing member of the Wilmington Investor Network.  “Plus, if we have a deal we can bring up to Canada, that’s great too.”

Cain came to Halifax for the Invest Atlantic conference in September, joining Finlay as joint keynote speakers.

Earlier in the year, FAN arranged for its portfolio company ABK Biomedical of Halifax to pitch to the Wilmington Investor Network. Chief science officer Daniel Boyd made the pitch as part of a raise with a target of $1 million.

Finlay said the current arrangement will allow FAN to take extraordinary companies outside of Atlantic Canada when searching for investment. Select entrepreneurs will be pitching beyond the borders of their own region, which helps ensure they are ready to compete internationally, he added.