NEW YORK, NY – iCapital Network, the leading financial technology platform streamlining access and efficiency in the alternative investing marketplace, today announced that it significantly grew key platform metrics, industry partnerships, the leadership team, and its industry education efforts in 2018.
At the end of 2017, iCapital’s platform serviced just over $5 billion in invested capital for approximately 10,000 investor accounts. As of December 2018, iCapital serviced more than $8 billion in invested capital across more than 14,000 underlying accounts. In September 2018, iCapital’s announced its acquisition of Bank of America’s alternative investment feeder fund operations. Having closed this deal, and solidified a similar relationship with Morgan Stanley in March 2019, the iCapital platform now services approximately $40 billion in invested capital for nearly 100,000 accounts.
In 2018, iCapital announced strategic investments from Blackstone, The Carlyle Group, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. All three firms utilize iCapital’s proprietary technology to help manage operations and administration of private fund vehicles for the retail wealth management community. These firms joined some of the largest and most respected firms in the wealth and asset management industries, including BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, and UBS, as strategic investors in iCapital, further expanding the consortium of industry leaders aligned with iCapital’s development of an industry standard technology solution for alternative investing.
“The iCapital team made incredible strides in 2018. We continue to evolve our offerings for the RIA firms who rely on us to provide quality investment opportunities for their high-net-worth client base, the wealth management firms seeking a seamless and intuitive technology experience, and the industry’s leading asset managers and banks looking to scale access to the retail marketplace,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chief Executive Officer of iCapital Network. “We are humbled by the support iCapital has received and look forward to continuing to collaborate with and serve the industry.”
New Partner Relationships
In 2018, iCapital increased its white label offerings and as of December 31, 2018, had launched 36 customized platforms for banks, wirehouses, brokerages, independent advisory firms and asset managers. These organizations have implemented a tailored version of iCapital’s technology into their alternatives infrastructure to improve and expand access to alternative investments in the private wealth management segment.
iCapital announced the following new partners in 2018: J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Barings, AllianceBernstein, HSBC Global Private Banking, and Rockefeller Capital Management.
“The prevalent adoption of iCapital’s technology speaks to our client-focused, innovative, and tech-forward approach,” said Tom Fortin, Chief Operating Officer of iCapital Network. “As we add leading players to the lineup of industry participants whose alternative investing infrastructure is powered by iCapital, we continue to develop the platform and refine our offerings to provide best-in-class service.”
Leadership Team Growth
The iCapital team continued to grow in 2018, and as of December 31, 2018, iCapital employed over 120 staff, including three new senior hires focused on building strategic capabilities needed to fuel future growth:
• Robert (Bob) Worthington was named Managing Director, Client Solutions at iCapital. He leads the firm’s distribution activities within the independent wealth channel, educating advisors about alternative investments, and helping wealth management firms leverage the iCapital technology for alternative investing opportunities. He was previously Senior Vice President at Brookfield Asset Management where he was charged with building out Brookfield’s relationships with RIAs and multi-family offices.
• Vinod Berchtold was named Chief Operating Officer of iCapital Network Switzerland AG, a subsidiary of iCapital Network. Based in Zurich, Mr. Berchtold is responsible for overseeing European and Asian business expansion and operations. Prior to joining iCapital, Mr. Berchtold was Senior Manager at UBS Global Wealth Management where he was most recently the Global Head of Revenue Management.
• Diane Frankenfield was named Chief Marketing Officer at iCapital where she is responsible for the strategic direction and execution of all global marketing activities including brand, advertising, PR, creative, digital, channel marketing, content development, social media, research and business analytics. Prior to joining, Ms. Frankenfield was Managing Director, Head of U.S. Marketing at Legg Mason.
Industry Recognition
In February 2018, iCapital was selected as a leading financial technology firm in the 2018 Forbes Fintech 50 list. The list highlights 50 innovative startups in the areas of investing, trading, wealth management, lending, personal finance, financial information and data, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, payments, business services, and capital markets. The list of 50 was chosen from among hundreds of nominations reviewed by Forbes, and iCapital was one of only 22 newcomers added to the list.
iCapital was also selected by WealthManagement.com in its 2018 Industry Awards as the top Alternative Investment Platform. The WealthManagement.com Industry Awards recognize outstanding achievement by companies and organizations providing support for financial advisor success. iCapital was awarded for its initiative to create customized, white label technology platforms that simplify access to alternative investments for banks, wirehouses, brokerages, independent firms and their advisory practitioners.
“We appreciate the industry and peer recognition immensely,” said Diane Frankenfield, Chief Marketing Officer of iCapital Network. “We are thrilled to have been distinguished for our efforts to support the wealth advisory community.”
Leader in Industry Education
iCapital continued with its mission of educating the wealth management industry about the characteristics of alternative investments and their role in portfolios throughout 2018. In addition to regular thought leadership content on topics such as investment strategies, portfolio construction, practice management and asset class mechanics, iCapital published two research reports about advisor behaviors:
• The ‘Advisors and Alternative Investments Report’ published in June 2018 explores how experienced advisors source and allocate to private equity funds, hedge funds and direct deals, the challenges that impact their ability to invest and their future plans for each asset type.
• The ‘report on Advisors and Technology‘ published in December 2018 shares findings about wealth managers’ expectations of integrating technology and how it would benefit their business, based on their age.
“Alternative investments are an important consideration for high-net-worth client portfolios given the increased return potential and diversification benefits,” said Mr. Calcano. “However, it is critical for advisory professionals to understand the complexities of alternatives, and as such, we are deeply committed to making helpful educational resources available to advisors of all experience levels.”
About iCapital Network
iCapital Network’s mission is to power the world’s alternative investment marketplace. Its financial technology platform has transformed the way alternative investments are bought and sold with complete tech-based solutions for advisors, their high-net-worth client base, asset managers and banks. The firm’s flagship platform offers advisors and their clients a curated menu of private equity and hedge funds at lower minimums with a full suite of due diligence and administrative support in a secure digital environment. Asset managers and banks leverage iCapital’s tech-enabled services to streamline and scale their private investments operational infrastructure. iCapital was included in the 2018 and 2019 Forbes FinTech 50 and as of March 2019 serviced approximately $40 billion in invested capital across more than 100,000 underlying accounts.
For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at www.icapital.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icapital-network-inc | Twitter: @icapitalnetwork | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/icapitalnetwork/
For iCapital Network media inquiries, please contact:
Emma Murphy
718-875-4545
| Cell 347-968-6800
[email protected]
or
Morgan Cretella
718-875-7606
| Cell 919-602-2806
[email protected]
Disclosures: This material is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as, and may not be relied on in any manner as, legal, tax or investment advice, a recommendation, or as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or a recommendation of any interest in any fund or security offered by iCapital. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Alternative investments are complex, speculative investment vehicles and are not suitable for all investors. An investment in an alternative investment entails a high degree of risk and no assurance can be given that any alternative investment fund’s investment objectives will be achieved or that investors will receive a return of their capital. The information contained herein is subject to change. Securities may be offered through iCapital Securities, LLC, a registered broker dealer, member of FINRA and SIPC and subsidiary of Institutional Capital Network, Inc. iCapital is a registered trademark of Institutional Capital Network, Inc. All rights reserved.
