Asset Management
iCapital Widens BlackRock Pact

iCapital continues to add new large asset managers and banks to its partnership roster.
iCapital, BlackRock
Tech investments platform iCapital Network
and funds titan BlackRock have widened their
pact to make private market investments more widely available to
wealth managers. The move comes hard on the heels of iCapital’s
agreement with Nuveen,
adding to a range of partnerships that the New York-based firm
has signed.
The iCapital/BlackRock partnership will focus on distributing
private market funds, as well as the ELTIF structure, a vehicle
for the private market sector in Europe.
The rise of iCapital is sometimes attributed to alternative
investments - such as private equity and hedge funds, once the
preserve of big institutions and ultra-wealthy individuals
- being democratised. The global market for alternative
investments is worth more than $10.7 trillion, and is expected to
grow 9.8 per cent by 2025. iCapital argues that individual
investor allocations have “historically lagged those of
institutional investors.”
BlackRock’s product offerings will include private equity,
private debt, and real assets, across geographies, including a
broadening array of ESG-integrated strategies. The investment
products will be available to wealth managers in Europe, the
Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
“Our mission is to solve the fundamental challenges of investing
in private markets for individual investors. iCapital’s solutions
support asset and wealth managers in broadening client access to
the growth and diversification opportunities of private markets,”
Marco Bizzozero, head of international business at iCapital
Network, said.
Last year, iCapital recruited two senior former Deutsche Bank figures to build out its European and international business reach.