iCapital announced that has acquired Bank of Singapore’s in-house private market feeder fund platform.
With the deal, iCapital takes over the management and operation of the bank’s private market feeder funds while Bank of Singapore retains client servicing responsibilities.
The deal builds on a long-standing partnership between the two companies. Bank of Singapore previously tapped iCapital to build out a technology and feeder fund solution to offer the bank’s advisors a seamless, intuitive platform for selecting private market investments for inclusion in client portfolios including private equity, private credit, and real assets.
“This transaction is the culmination of a highly collaborative relationship with iCapital,” said Leong Guan Lim, Global Head of Products at Bank of Singapore. “By partnering with the iCapital team on the management of our private market feeder funds business, we can ensure that our relationship managers and their clients have access to the industry’s leading technology and education offerings within the private market investing space.”
Following the close of the transaction, iCapital services approximately US$114 billion in global private assets, of which more than US$27 billion are from international investors (non-US Domestic), across more than 940 funds.
“We are excited to forge a deeper relationship with Bank of Singapore as we expand our offering to a growing base of clients and investors throughout Asia,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chairman and CEO of iCapital. “Our team works tirelessly to evolve with the investor demands of the international marketplace and we are grateful for the support of Bank of Singapore as we work together to further our mission.”
Bank of Singapore will continue to source and monitor private market investments for its clients and provide ongoing advice to its clients on private market investments within a diversified investment strategy.
iCapital will become the provider of custom private market funds for the bank’s high-net-worth clients.
As part of the transaction, the bank’s wealth managers also gain access to AltsEdge, the comprehensive educational platform sponsored by the iCapital Foundation and CAIA, designed to help wealth managers better understand alternative investments and how they can leverage them to improve client outcomes. The program consists of ten guided modules covering the private markets, various types of strategies and product structures and portfolio construction.
Asia is expected to grow its ultra-high-net-worth-investor (UHNWI) population by close to 40 percent over the next five years, significantly above the global average of 27 percent2, and interest in alternative investments by Asian UHNWIs has steadily increased in recent years.
The transaction with Bank of Singapore was completed on February 28, 2022.