Capital steps: Angel investments down, deals hold steady.

Plenty of angels investors were on the shoulders of entrepreneurs in 2008, but they were not helping as much as in previous years.

According to a report by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, the total value of angel investments dropped in 2008 by 28.2 percent from 2007, but the number of deals was relatively unchanged, with 55,480 entrepreneurial ventures receiving funding--2.9 percent less than the 57,120 total ventures in 2007.

Total investments in 2008 were $19.2 billion, a decrease of 26.2 percent from 2007, during which $26 billion in investments was reported.

The number of active investors in 2008 totaled 260,500, virtually unchanged from 258,200 in 2007.

The report found that health-care services/medical devices and equipment accounted for the largest share of angel investments in 2008--16 percent of the total. In 2007, 27 percent of deals were in the software sector and 19 percent in health care and related services.

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In 2008, software made up 13 percent of investments, followed by retail (12 percent) and biotech (11 percent). Industrial/energy accounted for 8 percent of investments due to continued interest in green technologies, and media (7 percent).

"Retail and media have solidified their presence in the top six sectors, mainly due to a continued interest in social networking ventures," said Jeffrey Sohl, director of the UNH Center for Venture Research at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics.

To view a copy of the 2008 Angel Market Analysis report, visit unh.edu/news/docs/ 2008AnoelReport.pdf.