iCapital buys Wells Fargo business to create $58bn platform

The iCapital Network announced that it has signed a deal to acquire the alternative investments platform from Wells Fargo’s Global Alternative Investments division. Upon the close of iCapital’s purchase of the Artivest platform and this deal, the platform will service a nearly $58 billion in client assets across more than 720 funds with 120,000 underlying accounts and more than 70 white label products, according to an announcement from the firm. With the Wells Fargo transaction, the assets of approximately 70 investment vehicles and an estimated $3 billion will be added to the current $51 billion iCapital platform across strategies such as private equity, private debt, hedge funds, private real estate and direct private investments. This follows roughly $4 billion in assets the platform added with the Artivest deal announced earlier this year. Wells Fargo will continue to provide its clients with the existing investment services under the agreement, but will leverage the iCapital platform to streamline and automate ongoing fund operations and provide support to Wells Fargo advisors and their high-net-worth clients. Officials at iCapital said they plan to offer positions to a team of Wells Fargo employees who currently support operations for the GAI Feeder Fund Platform. “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,” said Lawrence Calcano, chairman and chief executive officer of iCapital Network. “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.” As part of the agreement, Wells Fargo is also making a strategic investment in iCapital under the terms of iCapital’s latest fundraising round announced earlier this year. “We are pleased to partner with iCapital to deliver investments to enhance the experience for our advisors and clients,” said Darrell Cronk, president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “This transaction will allow us to continue to provide innovative alternative solutions to our clients as well as upgrade the overall platform and launch new offerings.” Wells Fargo will use iCapital’s white-label technology to streamline and automate ongoing operations and fund administration services for Wells Fargo’s alternative investment feeder funds. The firm is also one of a number of strategic investors in iCapital and joins Ping An Global Voyager Fund, Goldman Sachs, Affiliated Managers Group, Hamilton Lane and WestCap as a new investor. 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.

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