NEW YORK, March 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — iCapital Network [i], the financial technology platform leading the industry in driving access and efficiency in alternative investing, today announced closed a $146 million capital raise to fuel its future growth. Ping An Global Voyager Fund (“Ping An“) led the round, joined by new investors Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG), Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) and WestCap. Additional commitments came from existing investors BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), UBS Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: UBS), Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK).
Through this financing, iCapital has built a strong balance sheet and capital base from which to operate as an independent company. This funding will allow the Company to enhance its platform technology and expand functionality in support of its existing clients and continued growth, a diversified slate of investment offerings and a globalized investor base. In addition, the funding will support iCapital’s continued commitment to the international marketplace as it solidifies relationships with partners across North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. iCapital will further its commitment to market education and build its team to help scale and improve upon the high-quality services and technical innovations it provides to clients.
Additional existing strategic partners and investors in iCapital include The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), Credit Suisse, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management (NYSE: MS).
“We are honored to have the support of a distinguished group of strategic investors, and a world-class team completely focused on supporting the success of our clients,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chief Executive Officer of iCapital Network. “The asset and wealth management industries have embraced the need for an independent, automated, transparent approach to alternatives. The future we believe in and the future we are building is one where all parties win.”
In addition to the investment, Ping An and other investors have indicated their intent to, or have already partnered with iCapital to leverage its proprietary technology to help manage the end-to-end operations of their private market activities targeted to the high-net-worth wealth management marketplace. Today’s announcement further expands a consortium of some of the largest and most influential firms in the wealth and asset management industries aligned with iCapital’s development of an industry standard technology solution for alternative investments.
Established by Ping An Group, the Ping An Global Voyager Fund is a Hong Kong-based investor in growth stage fintech and healthtech companies.
Jonathan Larsen, Chairman and CEO at Ping An Global Voyager Fund, said “iCapital has rapidly established itself as a pre-eminent distribution, administration and workflow platform for high-net-worth access to alternative assets. They have strong partnerships with the leading wealth management players in the U.S. and, increasingly, globally. We are excited to partner with the iCapital team on its next stage of growth, and we see enormous opportunities to open up access to alternatives in Asia and beyond.”
As an important part of this capital raise, BlackRock, a long-standing strategic partner of iCapital, will take a significant minority stake in the independent company.
“BlackRock is excited to continue to support iCapital in its next phase of growth as a well-capitalized, independent entity,” said Rob Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock. “As financial advisors explore the role alternatives can play in robust, diversified portfolios, iCapital’s leading open-architecture platform provides technology to streamline, automate and facilitate investments in private markets.”
In 2019, the Company increased the assets it services from $8 billion to $46.6 billion across more than 470 funds, 100,000 underlying accounts and 55 white label partnerships. The Company also significantly expanded its senior leadership and added over 100 employees to bring its total headcount to 218.
iCapital’s modular technology and service platform is purpose-built to provide an end-to-end solution that is fully configurable, highly scalable, and able to support the unique subscription, administration, and reporting processes for private equity, private credit, hedge funds and other alternative investments. It addresses many of the long-standing challenges of investing in alternatives by using technology to streamline access, ease operational burdens and improve the user experience. The platform is designed to meet the continually evolving needs of all industry participants: the advisors who need simplified, tech-enabled investment processes to help incorporate alternative investments in their clients’ portfolios; the asset managers looking to scale their fundraising efforts; and the wealth management firms seeking a technology platform to enhance or replace existing systems.
PJT Partners LP acted as financial advisor and placement agent with respect to the transaction. Terms of the capital raise were not disclosed.
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 through the development of 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 access to 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 Network’s tech-enabled services to streamline and scale their private investments operational infrastructure. iCapital was recognized in the 2018 and 2019 Forbes FinTech 50 which highlights the top 50 innovative financial technology companies that are transforming finance through technology. As of December 31, 2019, iCapital Network services more than $46.6 billion in invested capital across more than 100,000 underlying accounts.
For additional information, please visit iCapital Network’s website at www.icapitalnetwork.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icapital-network-inc | Twitter: @icapitalnetwork
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 Institutional Capital Network, Inc. or its affiliates (together “iCapital Network”). Past performance is not indicative of future results. Alternative investments such as those described 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 and is also incomplete. This industry information and its importance is an opinion only and should not be relied upon as the only important information available. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed.
Securities may be offered through iCapital Securities, LLC, a registered broker dealer, member of FINRA and SIPC and subsidiary of Institutional Capital Network, Inc. All rights reserved
iCapital and iCapital Network are registered trademarks of Institutional Capital Network, Inc. All rights reserved.
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[i] Institutional Capital Network, Inc. (“iCapital Network”, “iCapital” or the “Company”) |