iCapital, which claims to be the leading global fintech platform driving access and efficiency in alternative investing for the asset and wealth management industries, and UBS (NYSE: UBS) announced they “entered into a definitive agreement whereby iCapital will acquire UBS Fund Advisor LLC, UBS’s legacy proprietary US alternative investment manager and the feeder fund platform it manages.”
The platform, generally referred to as “AlphaKeys Funds,” represents “more than US$7 billion in client assets.”
With this transaction, iCapital will “assume the management and operation of the platform, which includes private equity, hedge fund and real estate feeder funds.” UBS Financial Advisors will continue “to serve their high and ultra-high net worth clients that hold feeder funds as they always have, providing advice and solutions to help meet their unique needs and financial goals.”
Lawrence Calcano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iCapital, said:
“iCapital has a long-standing global relationship with UBS through which we utilize our market-leading technology to facilitate the management of their direct and feeder funds on a single platform and offer their advisors the tools they need to be successful. We are thrilled to expand that relationship to include management of UBS Fund Advisor and the feeder fund platform.”
Jerry Pascucci, Global Co-Head of Alternative Investment Solutions at UBS Global Wealth Management, remarked:
“This agreement underscores the importance of having partners like iCapital, with aligned values and priorities to support clients’ financial goals. iCapital is uniquely qualified to manage the on-going operations of this platform and service our clients’ existing investments, enabling us to help our financial advisors focus on what’s important – providing personalized advice and solutions to their clients.”
In 2017, UBS became “an investor in iCapital and entered into a strategic relationship with the firm to structure new feeder funds for UBS to distribute going forward.”
At that time, UBS also “integrated iCapital’s proprietary technology into its private fund operations to streamline and automate its alternative investment offerings.”
In 2021, the strategic partnership was “enhanced to further digitize the UBS Advisor experience, improving the information and analytics of clients’ private market investments across its international locations, including Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore.”
The transaction is “expected to close during the second half of 2022. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.”