Based in the US, the firm operates in the area of collecting, processing and reporting about investments in often illiquid and complex areas such as private equity, hedge funds and real estate. It is tapping into the EMEA region, where alternative AuM has expanded rapidly.

Canoe Intelligence, the US fintech firm working with wealth managers, capital allocators and other firms, has opened a new office in London and added to its team as part of a European build-out.

The firm said in a statement that it has hired Toby Bailey as vice president of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Bailey has more than 12 years of experience in sales and sales leadership at private markets software and data businesses. He began his career at the Mergermarket Group where he helped launch and grow the company’s M&A platform, MergerID, which was ultimately acquired by Intralinks. He also worked at iLEVEL in Europe, where he contributed to establishing iLEVEL as a portfolio monitoring software for private capital general and limited partners. Most recently, Bailey opened the UK office for CEPRES, building a client base among European institutional investors.

“The alternative assets industry in Europe is robust and growing, making it the optimal time for Canoe to expand its presence in the region,” the business said, noting that assets under management for Europe-based alternatives funds reached €2.00 trillion at the end of 2019. That was a rise from €1.79 trillion ($2.13 trillion) at the end of 2018.

In 2020, Canoe’s global client base grew by more than 150 per cent as clients used its services to scale alternative data processes from document collection to data extraction and delivery into downstream systems.

The business competes with organizations such as Private Client Resources, among others. The business of collecting, processing and reporting on investments in alternative areas such as private equity, hedge funds and real estate has expanded rapidly as capital has flowed into these areas over the past two decades. Low yields on listed equities and government bonds amid ultra-low interest rates have fueled the popularity of private markets. However, these areas have traditionally been challenging for wealth managers seeking to report back to clients.

“Alternative investments are growing rapidly around the world and we’re looking forward to being at the forefront of this regional expansion. We’re excited to welcome someone of Toby’s caliber to the team,” Canoe chief executive Jason Eiswerth said. “As we continue to expand our reach internationally and more firms recognize the importance of streamlining alternative investment processes, Toby’s track record of successfully growing organizations within the UK and beyond will make a significant impact at Canoe.”