iCapital’s ascent shows how access to private market investments and other “alternative” assets is becoming more “democratized”. With this new arrangement with Bridgewater, it will expand into the family offices and RIAs market, it said.

iCapital Network, a New York-based fintech platform focused on alternative investment, is widening its business dealings with Bridgewater Associates, the portfolio management business, to target RIAs and family offices. 

Under the agreement, iCapital will provide a customized technology platform to give registered investment advisors and family offices access to Bridgewater’s strategies for their ultra-high net worth clients in the US. 

The pact comes a few days after iCapital received $440 million from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek and several financial groups including UBS, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Wells Fargo. That money is being used to enhance iCapital’s platform technology. (Besides the previously-mentioned investors, others were Owl Rock, a division of Blue Owl Capital; MSD Partners; Noah Holdings and Golub Capital; WestCap; Ping An Voyager Partners; Blackstone; Pivot Investment Partners; BNY Mellon; and Morgan Stanley. Today, the company’s valuation is about $4.0 billion.)

iCapital’s offering digitalizes the subscription, administration, operational and reporting processes of alternative investments. It also provides research, due diligence and educational materials to advisors and investors.

“In this evolving economic environment, there is growing investor demand – and need – for strategies that are designed to provide diversification and are uncorrelated to traditional portfolios,” Josh Levine, head of marketing and sales, said. 

Based in Westport, Connecticut, Bridgewater manages about $150 billion in assets for institutional investors, including public and corporate pension funds, university endowments, charitable foundations, supranational agencies, foreign governments, and central banks. 

iCapital’s ascent shows how access to private market investments and other “alternative” assets is becoming more “democratized”. The business was founded in 2013. As of June 30, iCapital Network has about 450 employees and services $80 billion in global client assets across more than 750 funds. Based in New York, it also has offices in Zurich, London, Lisbon, and Hong Kong.