A new partnership has been forged within the fund distribution sector, mainly targeting private market funds, in which Switzerland will play a major role.

Funds distributor Allfunds and fintech Platform iCapital Network are entering into a strategic partnership through which iCapital will provide private market investment opportunities complementing the sub-advisory solutions currently available to the Allfunds global distributor network, the companies said in a press release Thursday.
Through the partnership, Allfunds distributors and their individual investors, along with small institutional investors, will be able to leverage iCapital’s technology and fund solutions to access a broad range of private market funds from premier managers across geographies and strategies -- including private equity, private debt, and real assets -- with lower minimum investment levels. The private market funds will be available through Allfunds Connect to Allfunds distributors, including major commercial and private banks, from over 60 different countries, the statement said.

Automated Processes
In addition to its fund selection and structuring capabilities, iCapital will provide its digital technology solution that automates the subscription and client servicing processes of alternative investing during the entire investment lifecycle, eliminating the operational difficulties and manual, paper-based processes that advisors and their clients have historically faced when investing in private markets.

International Expansion Managed from Zurich
iCapital Network was founded in New York in 2013 and has recently begun to expand internationally. The main in charge of this is former Deutsche Bank und Unicredit manager Marco Bizzozero, who is based in Zurich. In addition to its Zurich offices the company has branches in Hong Kong and London as well as an IT and technology hub in Lisbon.
It employs over 400 people, and has put about $73 billion of clients’ money into around 760 funds.

Wealth Tech
Allfunds is one of the largest fund distribution networks in the world as well as a leading wealth tech company. It manages over 1.3 trillion euros ($1.6 trillion) of assets and offers more than 100,000 funds from over 1,960 institutions.