UBS Financial Services has invested in iCapital Network, a financial technology platform providing access to alternative investments for high-net-worth individuals and their financial advisors, joining lead investor BlackRock as a strategic partner.
Founded in 2013, iCapital’s online platform offers the high-net-worth community access to a curated menu of alternative investments such as hedge funds and private equity funds. As part of its offering, iCapital provides an end-to-end technology solution automating the unique subscription, administration and reporting processes of these investments, which have historically only been available to institutional investors. iCapital will use the infusion of capital to further develop the core functions of its innovative platform – through which the retail market can access alternative investment funds – and to make the technology behind its platform widely available as a workflow enhancement to the wealth management community.
“We are fortunate to have strategic partners at both the financial and commercial level with a desire to challenge the operational status quo and advance industry standards around alternative investments,” says Lawrence Calcano (pictured), Chief Executive Officer of iCapital Network. “UBS is leveraging the power of technology to help financial advisors deliver the best possible service experience to their clients.”
Alongside the investment, UBS will incorporate iCapital’s proprietary technology into its private fund operations to streamline and automate its alternative investment offering. The relationship emphasises the importance of alternatives in a holistic wealth management approach while signalling a need for an industry-wide solution to the manual and paperwork-intensive processes traditionally associated with private investments.
“We are excited to re-engineer our alternatives infrastructure and equip our financial advisors with the efficiencies, intelligence and controls of tech-enabled workflows. iCapital’s proprietary technology and end-to-end service offering provide a seamless operational solution, making these strategies and exposures more accessible and helping advisors deliver better service to their ultra-high-net-worth clients,” says Jerry Pascucci, Managing Director at UBS and Head of Alternative Investments, Wealth Management Americas.
