People Moves
iCapital Expands EMEA Footprint, Pushes Into Asia

The firm has risen rapidly since it was founded in 2013, highlighting how it makes tapping into private assets easier. It has exploited the surge of interest in asset classes such as private equity in a world of very low interest rates and fewer firms going public.
iCapital
Network, the New York-based fintech platform for alternative
investments such as private equity, is boosting its international
footprint, naming its first Asian leadership hire. It has
appointed Edwin Chan as head of client solutions, Asia.
Additionally, the firm has named Manuel Faccio as head of client
solutions, Europe.
Chan will be based in Hong Kong, where iCapital is opening a new
office. Faccio will be based in iCapital’s Zurich office where he
will drive iCapital’s continued growth in the EMEA region, the
group said in a statement late last week.
Chan has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services,
with the most recent decade focused on private markets
origination and distribution of private funds in the Asia-Pacific
region. He established Probitas Partners’ Asian business, where
he developed relationships with fund sponsors and institutional
investors, including fund advisors, wealth managers and family
office investors investing across private equity, private debt,
and real assets strategies globally. Previously, he served as a
regional business development director for AIG Global
Investments’ investment products in Asia. Chan began his career
in the corporate and investment banking sector with HSBC and
Citibank.
Faccio will manage the entire enterprise sales cycle for the EMEA
region and promote business development activities with a primary
focus on wealth management organisations, banks, and asset
managers in Europe. Faccio will report to Marco Bizzozero,
managing director, head of international. Prior to this, Faccio
spent a decade-long career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank
in London. He moved to asset management where he held several
senior positions in London and Zurich, most recently as head of
coverage for Switzerland and Southern Europe and CEO of
Switzerland for DWS Asset Management.
Since iCapital’s founding in 2013, the firm has grown to service
more than $73 billion in invested capital on its platform,
including more than $11 billion from non-US investors. The rise
of this firm is part of a “democratisation-of-access” process in
alternative investments, in which such platforms purport to make
it easier for HNW investors to tap into previously hard-to-enter
areas such as private debt, credit and real estate. iCapital’s
ascent also mirrors the large growth in private market
investments, fuelled by illiquid assets typically offering
superior yields to stocks and bonds.
According to a forecast by research firm Preqin, assets under management
are expected to grow by more than 5 per cent annually in Europe
and by 25 per cent in Asia through to 2025.
“Private market investments are highly sought after by wealth
managers and their high net worth clients across the globe. As a
result, interest in employing iCapital’s technology solutions
among banks, wealth managers and asset managers has been
accelerating across both Asia and Europe,” Bizzozero said.