iCapital Network, the financial technology platform democratizing alternative investments, announced that The Carlyle Group has invested in the company as a strategic partner.
The firm joins BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse Group AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley Investment Management (NYSE: MS), and UBS Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: UBS) as a strategic partner and investor, further expanding the consortium of industry leaders aligned with iCapital’s development of an industry standard technology solution for alternative investments.
iCapital’s modular technology and service platform is purpose-built to provide an end-to-end solution that is fully configurable, highly scalable, and able to support the unique subscription, administration, and reporting processes for private equity, private credit, hedge funds, and other alternative investments. It is designed to overcome many of the long-standing challenges of investing in alternatives by using technology to streamline access, ease operational burdens, and improve the user experience, enabling iCapital’s partners to provide the highest level of service to their clients.
In addition to the investment, The Carlyle Group has also partnered with iCapital to leverage its proprietary technology to help manage Carlyle’s operations and administration of its private equity vehicles targeting the wealth management marketplace.
"We are fortunate to have The Carlyle Group as a strategic partner at both the financial and commercial level supporting our efforts to advance industry standards for accessing alternative investments," said Lawrence Calcano, Chief Executive Officer of iCapital Network. “It’s an exciting time to be involved in the alternative investment industry and this announcement underscores the confidence placed in iCapital, and in our ability to achieve our goal of streamlining access to alternatives and automating the industry overall.”
“Carlyle has developed a strong relationship with the team at iCapital as they’ve rapidly grown from a fintech startup to an established leader working with some of the most respected participants in alternatives,” said Norma Kuntz, Managing Director and the Global Head of Fund Management at The Carlyle Group. “Using technology to improve operational processes and infrastructure, iCapital’s platform is a potential game-changer for the industry.”
Paul Ferraro, Managing Director and Head of Carlyle’s Private Client group, added, “We have seen firsthand how iCapital’s technology facilitates access to alternative investments for high net worth clients and eases fund administration for GPs. Their technology has become the standard in the marketplace. We look forward to enhancing our relationship with iCapital and working together to help shape the future of this important channel.”
Carlyle’s investment came from its balance sheet.