Alternative investment fintech iCapital to acquire UBS Fund Advisor
Alternative investment fintech iCapital is set to acquire UBS Fund Advisor for an undisclosed sum.
The deal includes UBS’s legacy proprietary alternative investment manager and the feeder fund platform it manages. The platform, known as AlphaKeys Funds, includes private equity, hedge fund and real estate feeder funds and represents more than $7 billion in client assets.
iCapital acquires UBS Fund Advisor
Following the acquisition, set to finalise in H2 2022, iCapital will assume the management and operation of the platform while UBS financial advisors will continue to serve its high and ultra-high-net-worth clients that hold feeder funds.
Lawrence Calcano, chair and CEO of iCapital, says the company “has a long-standing global relationship with UBS” through which it utilises its 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”.
UBS Global Wealth Management global co-head of alternative investment solutions Jerry Pascucci says iCapital will manage the ongoing operations of the platform and service UBS clients’ existing investments, “enabling us to help our financial advisors focus on what’s important – providing personalised advice and solutions to their clients”.
UBS invested in iCapital in 2017, with iCapital structuring new feeder funds for UBS to distribute. UBS also integrated iCapital’s proprietary technology into its private fund operations to automate its alternative investment offerings.
In 2021, the strategic partnership was expanded to further digitise the UBS Advisor platform, improving the information and analytics of clients’ private market investments across its international locations.
