Global fintech platform iCapital has launched the iCapital Marketplace, which will serve as a one-stop shop for advisors and general partners to connect with each other, educate themselves, and provide access to the full gamut of funds available through iCapital.
Initially, iCapital’s flagship listed those funds that the firm’s in-house Research and Due Diligence team had selected. Given its success, it began to offer white label versions of the service to general partners as well as independent RIAs and wirehouses.
While popular and successful, it did result in a fragmented marketplace where general partners and advisors were each on their own separate white label site. Under that configuration, if an advisor wanted access to a particular general partner’s funds, the advisor would have to go to that individual’s specific white label portal, according to Lawrence Calcano, chairman and CEO of iCapital.
“People had to go to different places to get [access to those funds and] now all of that will be in one place,” he said. “The whole ecosystem is more significant [and] it’s all in one place and there’s a whole new set of tools that help navigate and work within that marketplace in a much more streamlined and efficient fashion.”
With the launch of iCapital Marketplace, fund managers have the option to use iCapital’s diligence services, while advisors can access a broader selection of funds. In addition, general partners looking to fundraise can use the platform to gain access to the advisory network.
“They would have to sort of create their own audience in terms of their team being out calling on advisors,” Calcano said. “And now with Marketplace, they're able to bring their products to a very large, aggregated group of advisors.”
The launch of the marketplace means that advisors can see everything including the funds offered by general partners on one main site, according to Calcano.
“We want to in effect create consolidation from an otherwise fragmented advisory population,” he said. “We want to create a consolidated place with general partners who can come and access this otherwise fragmented universe [and] we want to help all the constituent's success in this asset class.”
Included on the new platform are a set of tools the firm introduced to make it easier for advisors to access a fund or a strategy they are looking for.
“They can see everything in one place, and they have the tools to be able to both search and sort, [and] find precisely the strategies they're looking for against a much larger universe,” Calcano said.
The system also provides a variety of educational elements advisors can use for themselves or with their clients. The components include market insights, webinars, training modules, and others, according to the firm. They range in complexity from general knowledge to intricately detailed topics, Calcano said.
The platform also offers compliance tools for advisors where they can educate themselves on a variety of complex topics and take tests. The platform will record and chart the performance of those tests as well.
“The educational infrastructure is quite robust spanning the general to the very specific and there are compliance applications on top of that which we think are very important for the independent community,” Calcano said.
iCapital will roll out additional tools for the platform in the coming weeks, Calcano said. He did not elaborate on the details but said they would be more on the analytical side of things in helping an advisor build out a portfolio.
“We’re going to announce a set of analytical tools that will allow people to build out better portfolios relative to their goals and objectives,” he said. “We’re going to be making a series of announcements this year around additional functionality capabilities that will be relevant to the marketplace experience.”
The Marketplace is currently live and is accessible to iCapital’s existing clients through their regular credentials. There is no additional cost for use of the portal, Calcano said.