iCapital in Deal To Acquire $7 Billion UBS Fund Advisor

Summary:
• iCapital, has agreed with UBS to acquire its alternative investment platform, UBS Fund Advisor LLC. We discuss the deal and its implications.

Fintech company iCapital, has announced that it has signed a formal agreement with UBS to buy UBS Fund Advisor LLC. The platform currently manages customer assets worth more than $7 billion. As part of the deal, iCapital will take over the platform’s management and operations, which includes private equity, hedge funds, and real estate feeder funds.

Evidence of strong ties between UBS and iCapital

The deal is clear evidence of the close relationship between UBS and iCapital, and UBS Financial Advisors will keep on serving its high and ultra-high net worth feeder fund clients in the same manner as before. They will offer guidance as well as potential solutions to assist them in meeting their particular financial needs and goals.

Without disclosing specifics, the two corporations have kept the terms of the deal between them under wraps. Conclusion of the deal will likely happen in H2 of 2022. In early August, the iCapital finalized its acquisition of SIMON Markets. The company is major provider of structured investments, annuities, and risk-managed products. Nearly 200 SIMON employees joined iCapital as a result of the acquisition, guaranteeing uninterrupted high-quality service for the firm’s clientele.

UBS made a strategic investment in iCapital in 2017. It formed a partnership with the company to create feeder funds for UBS to market in the future. In addition to streamlining and automating its alternative investment services, UBS at the time also integrated iCapital’s proprietary technology into its private fund operations.

“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,” said Lawrence Calcano, the Chairman and CEO of iCapital.

iCapital has been in operation since 2013. The company’s products make it possible for organizations to simplify and scale the operational infrastructure of their alternative investments. Because of the streamlined digital processes, it also makes direct investments and feeder funds available at lower thresholds. Managed by iCapital, these platforms give financial advisors, and their ultra-wealthy customers access to a wide variety of alternative assets.