Fund administrator Citco enhanced its online service with new features to streamline the capital raising and subscription process.
New features added to the CitcoConnect platform include pre-populated forms and digital signing capabilities. The platform now also provides access to more granular information for fund managers.
“CitcoConnect’s 2018 launch marked a pivotal step towards modernizing the investor subscription and capital raising process,” said Emer McGuckin, managing director of Citco Investor Relations of Citco (Canada). “These advancements epitomize our commitment to expediting the investor on-boarding process.”
Officials declined to comment on how many GPs and LPs use the service, but the firm services $1.8 trillion in assets via its administration business.
Prospective investors can now kick-start their AML/KYC pre-review online, well in advance of completing their initial subscription form through CitcoConnect’s online smart form technology. Also, the platform’s new data pre-population function boosts online initial subscription form completion by providing users with the option to pre-fill their form with previously provided data. Upon form completion, users can submit these forms for digital signing to their authorized signatories, including GP countersignatures and any necessary third-party witness verifications, all within the CitcoConnect ecosystem.
These upgrades not only save valuable time for prospective investors but elevate data accuracy and consistency for investment managers, Citco added. The platform’s intelligent form wizard tailors questions specifically to each prospective investor, eliminating unnecessary queries. Real-time data validations and mandatory question controls ensure the submission of accurate, complete subscription forms, reducing communication hurdles between investors, fund managers, and their administrator.
For managers, CitcoConnect now provides unprecedented access to granular data room activity, including document-level and individual user usage. This feature allows fund managers to tailor their engagement with users based on their specific product interests.
In a recent private equity fund closing, more than 600 online capital commitments were processed seamlessly through the platform within just 10 days, officials said. The aim is to smooth the path for GPs to close their funds by streamlining the completion of AML and other documents. CitcoConnect has been used as a tool for closed-end funds such as private equity and real estate funds.
