With so much focus on the rise of alternative/private markets' access in recent years, firms such as iCapital have risen to widen access for wealth managers to previously hard-to-enter investments traditionally dominated by big institutions and ultra-wealthy individuals. 

New York-headquartered iCapital is continuing to expand at a brisk pace. 

The global fintech platform for alternative investments in the wealth sector is launching “iCapital Marketplace” in Hong Kong and Singapore. The offering is billed, according to a statement this week, as “a one-stop-shop connecting wealth managers and advisors with a broad menu of alternative investment opportunities across private equity, private debt, infrastructure, real assets and hedge funds.”

“Investors in Asia and the rest of the world are increasingly interested in how private markets can offer enhanced diversification and potentially superior returns for their portfolios, while asset managers seek to diversify their fundraising across the growing wealth management channel,” Marco Bizzozero, head of iCapital’s international arm, said.  

With so much focus on the rise of alternative/private markets' access in recent years, firms such as iCapital (US), CAIS (US) and Moonfare (Germany) have risen to widen access for wealth managers to previously hard-to-enter investments traditionally dominated by big institutions and ultra-wealthy individuals. 

iCapital’s ascent has been particularly rapid, having only been established since 2013. In March this year, JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM), which has $213 billion in alternative assets under management globally, announced that it was partnering with iCapital to open up access for Asia-Pacific wealth managers and their clients to JPMAM’s private market investment capabilities. JP Morgan became a strategic investor in iCapital in 2018. In December 2023, iCapital partnered with investor services group IQ-EQ.

The high frontier
Alternative asset managers can expand their distribution strategy and fundraise from the growing wealth management channel via one single access point via the new offering, iCapital said.

The platform also features research and educational tools, such as due diligence reports, market insights, webinars, and training modules.

See here for an interview (2022) with iCapital’s Bizzozero.