iCapital Network entered into an agreement to acquire the alternative investments feeder fund platform from Wells Fargo’s global alternative investments (GAI) division. As a part of the transaction, Wells Fargo is making a strategic investment in iCapital under the terms of iCapital’s latest fundraising round.
Wells Fargo’s alternative investment feeder fund platform supports alternative solutions, including private equity, private debt, hedge funds, private real estate and direct private investments across approximately 70 investment vehicles. Last month, iCapital agreed to acquire the Artivest platform and operating businesses. Upon completion of both transactions, iCapital’s platform will service nearly $58 billion in client assets across more than 720 funds, 120,000 underlying accounts and more than 70 white label partners.
“We are enormously excited to forge this partnership with Wells Fargo as another important milestone on our mission to create the industry standard technology solution for private investments,” Lawrence Calcano, chairman and CEO of iCapital Network, said. “This agreement is emblematic of the great strides we have made to provide greater access, efficiency and transparency for the wealth management community seeking alternative investing strategies for their high-net-worth clients.”
“We are pleased to partner with iCapital to deliver alternative investments to enhance the experience for our advisors and clients,” Darrell Cronk, president of the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said. “This transaction will allow us to continue to provide innovative alternative investment solutions to our clients as well as upgrade the overall platform and launch new offerings.”
iCapital’s white-label technology will be leveraged to streamline and automate ongoing operations and fund administration services for Wells Fargo’s alternative investment feeder funds. It also will provide support to Wells Fargo’s advisors and their high-net-worth client base. As part of the transaction, iCapital will offer employment to a team of Wells Fargo employees who currently support operations for the GAI feeder fund platform. The transitioning team will continue to support the fund portfolio to ensure continuity of service.
Earlier this year, iCapital closed a $146 million capital raise to support its future growth. As a part of the transaction, Wells Fargo will be the latest strategic investor to join the consortium of wealth and asset managers strategically invested in iCapital. Wells Fargo joined Ping An Global Voyager Fund, Goldman Sachs, Affiliated Managers Group, Hamilton Lane and WestCap as new investors.
Additional existing strategic partners and investors in iCapital include BlackRock, Blackstone, BNY Mellon, The Carlyle Group, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and UBS Financial Services.
The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2020. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
iCapital Network is a financial technology platform that drives access and efficiency in alternative investing for the asset and wealth management industries.
