AXA IM Alts, a global leader in alternative investments with c. $200 (c. €188) billion1 of assets under management, and iCapital2, the leading global fintech platform driving access and efficiency in alternative investing for the asset and wealth management industries, have today announced a strategic partnership to increase wealth managers’ access to private market investing opportunities.
The partnership will start with AXA IM Alts’ $500m Global Health Private Equity strategy, the first SDFR Article 9 fund on the iCapital platform, focused on four core areas of innovation: medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, and diagnostics. Going forward, the relationship will expand to provide wealth managers and their clients with access to institutional-quality alternative investments including real estate, infrastructure and private debt.
AXA IM Alts’ network of wealth managers and their high-net-worth (HNW) clients will have access to AXA IM Alts’ offerings via a customized white label solution provided by iCapital, enabling it to grow and scale its alternative investment offering. AXA IM Alts products will also be made available on Allfunds, the world’s largest fund distribution network, and a strategic partner of iCapital.3
The partnership is an important milestone in AXA IM Alts’ strategic expansion into the private wealth sector, as it seeks to address the increasing appetite from private investors for investments into alternative assets classes, by leveraging its long-standing expertise as an asset manager in these sectors. With a more than 30-year track record in alternative investments, AXA IM Alts is building on its deep heritage in real assets, structured finance and impact investing, as well as its ESG expertise.
The partnership with iCapital follows AXA IM Alts’ recent appointment of Marion Redel-Delabarre as Head of Private Wealth. Marion, who has over 17 years’ experience in the asset management industry with a strong focus on Wealth Management, is in charge of leading the expansion of AXA IM Alts into the private wealth segment, by addressing HNW investors’ growing appetite for alternative investments. The partnership with iCapital will enable AXA IM Alts to accelerate its development, leveraging iCapital’s intuitive, end-to-end digital experience to simplify for advisers and their HNW clients the investment in private markets.
AXA IM Alts’ Global Health Private Equity strategy4, launched in March 2022, provides investors with access to private healthcare companies aiming to deliver healthcare solutions at accessible price points for global markets. Aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the strategy directly addresses SDG 3: Good Health & Well-being; SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 10: Reduced Inequality. Access to this strategy aims to provide private investors and wealth managers with an opportunity to invest in an impact-driven, highly diversified solution at scale that capitalises on market trends and helps fill this funding gap. The strategy can be exposed to the following risks: liquidity risk, valuation risk, sourcing/operational risk, market risk, capital risk.
Florence Dard, Global Head of Client Group at AXA IM Alts, commented: “This partnership is an important step in our strategy to significantly expand our private client base and provide a broader pool of investors with access to diversified, impact-driven alternative solutions. Demand for alternative and private market investments amongst wealth managers and their clients is growing, as they seek return drivers beyond the traditional investment universe. In alignment to these demand trends, this partnership further supports our long-term, strategic ambition to expand into the private wealth market.”
“We are also seeing heightened interest from the private wealth market for investments that deliver positive environmental and societal impact and through this partnership we are providing private investors both with access to an innovative investment solution, targeting the growing global healthcare market, while also delivering on their impact goals.
Marco Bizzozero, Head of International at iCapital, commented: “Wealth Managers are increasingly looking to private markets as a way to help their clients to improve their financial outcomes. We are delighted to partner with AXA IM Alts, a global leader in alternative investments, in its ambition to be at the forefront of expanding access to private markets for individual investors and meeting increasing demand for impact-driven investments. This partnership demonstrates that iCapital is a preferred partner for asset managers as they bring their products to the wealth management channel.”
Press Contacts
AXA IM Alts
Jocelyne Tamssom, Head of Communications
Pauline Mauvenu, Communications Officer
Tel: + 33 (0)1 44 45 96 62 / +33 (0)1 44 45 89 84
[email protected]
FTI Consulting Inc.
Richard Sunderland, Cat Stirling, Erica Lewis, Samuel Grant
Tel: +44 7753 302 269
[email protected]
iCapital
Morgan Miller, The Neibart Group
Tel: +1 919 602 2806
[email protected]
About AXA IM Alts
AXA IM Alts is a global leader in alternative investments with €188 billion of assets under management1 comprising over €88 billion of primarily private real estate, c.€84 billion of private debt and alternative credit, as well as c. €16 billion in Infrastructure, private equity and hedge funds. We take a 360-degree approach to real assets (real estate & infrastructure) investing with c.129 billion of AUM in direct opportunities, held indirectly through debt and listed equities and via long-term private equity investments into operating platforms. ESG is fully integrated into our investment decision-making processes with our responsible investment approach anchored by the three key pillars of decarbonisation, resilience and building tomorrow. AXA IM Alts employs over 790 people located in 16 offices around the world and serves the needs of more than 500 clients from Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and Middle East. We are the number one property portfolio and asset manager in Europe2, and one of the largest worldwide.
(1) Source: AXA IM data (unaudited). All figures as of 31 March 2022.
(2) Source: IPE Top 150 Real Estate Investment Managers, November/December 2021. #1 real estate investment manager in Europe based on total European real estate assets under management.
About AXA Investment Managers
AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a responsible asset manager, actively investing for the long-term to help its clients, its people and the world to prosper. Our high conviction approach enables us to uncover what we believe to be the best global investment opportunities across alternative and traditional asset classes, managing approximately €864 billion in assets as at the end of March 2022.
AXA IM is a leading investor in green, social and sustainable markets, managing €563 billion of ESG-integrated, sustainable and impact assets as at the end of December 2021. We are committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 across all our assets, and integrating ESG principles into our business, from stock selection to our corporate actions and culture. Our goal is to provide clients with a true value responsible investment solution, while driving meaningful change for society and the environment.
At end of December 2021, AXA IM employs over 2,460 employees around the world, operates out of 23 offices across 18 countries and is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management.
Visit our websites https://realassets.axa-im.com and www.axa-im.com
Follow us on Twitter @AXAIMAlts and @AXAIM
About iCapital
Founded in 2013 in NYC, iCapital is the leading global fintech company powering the world’s alternative investment marketplace. It has transformed the way the wealth management, banking, and asset management industries facilitate access to private markets investments for their high-net-worth clients by providing intuitive, end-to-end technology and service solutions. Wealth management firms use iCapital’s solutions to provide clients with quality funds at lower minimums and simplified digital workflows. Asset managers, RIAs and banks leverage iCapital’s technology to streamline and scale their alternative investments operational infrastructure. Additionally, the iCapital ‘flagship’ platform offers wealth advisors and their high-net-worth clients access to a curated menu of private equity, private credit, hedge funds, structured investments, and other alternatives to help meet their investing needs for return and diversification. iCapital’s research and diligence team offers robust analysis alongside the firm’s extensive suite of advisor education, compliance, portfolio management, and portfolio analytics tools and services. iCapital has been recognized on the Forbes FinTech 50 list in each year 2018 through 2022, the Forbes America’s Best Startup Employers in 2021 and 2022, and MMI/Barron’s Industry Awards as Solutions Provider of the Year in 2020 and 2021. As of May 31, 2022, iCapital services more than US$130 billion in global client assets, of which more than US$30 billion are from international investors (non-US Domestic), across more than 1,035 funds. Employing more than 800 people globally, iCapital is headquartered in NYC and has offices worldwide including in Zurich, London, Lisbon, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toronto.
For additional information, please visit the iCapital website at icapital.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icapital-network-inc | Twitter: @icapitalnetwork
See disclosures here.
(1) Source: AXA IM Alts unaudited data, as of March 2022.
(2) Institutional Capital Network, Inc. and its affiliates (together, “iCapital”)
(3) Source: ‘Allfunds acquires Credit Suisse InvestLab making it the largest combination in the platform space to date’, Allfunds website, June 2019
(4) Source: The strategy is actively managed without a reference to any benchmark.
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