San Francisco - The confidence of Silicon Valley venture capitalists sunk to a new four-year low during the first quarter, according to a new survey of 32 Bay Area investors by Mark Cannice, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Business and Management.

The index registered 3.22 on a five-point scale, falling from 3.54 last quarter. It was the second straight low-mark in the more than four-year history of the survey.

"VC concern emphasized the broadening impact of the credit crisis and general financial market volatility, which has caused a drought in venture-backed exits," said Cannice.

He added, however, that investors in early stage companies held a generally higher level of confidence, and that some other venture investors held out hope for an uptick in exit alternatives by 2009."

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http://www.usfca.edu/sobam/nvc