Hot on the heels of its $146m funding round in March, investment solution provider iCapital Network has now inked a deal to buy Wells Fargo’s Global Alternative Investments (GAI) Feeder Fund Platform.
Launched in 2006, the platform provides brokerage and wealth management clients the ability to invest in a full suite of alternative solutions. This includes putting money towards private equity, private debt, hedge funds, private real estate, and direct private investments across approximately 70 investment vehicles.
At the same time as the deal was announced, Wells Fargo revealed that it is making a strategic investment in iCapital under the terms of iCapital’s latest fundraising round. That deal was led by Ping An Global Voyager Fund. It also saw participation from Goldman Sachs, Affiliated Managers Group, Hamilton Lane and WestCap as well as from from existing iCapital backers BlackRock, UBS Financial Services, Blackstone and BNY Mellon.
“We are pleased to partner with iCapital to deliver alternative investments to enhance the experience for our advisors and clients,” said Darrell Cronk, president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “This transaction will allow us to continue to provide innovative alternative investment solutions to our clients as well as upgrade the overall platform and launch new offerings.”
iCapital will offer employment to a team of Wells Fargo employees who currently support operations for the GAI Feeder Fund Platform. The transitioning team will continue to support the fund portfolio to ensure continuity of service.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the second half of 2020. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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