Investcorp offers new FinTech investment platform

Bahrain-based alternative asset manager Investcorp is offering a new FinTech platform that will allow investors to browse, assess and invest in its private equity, real estate and other offerings online. The Investcorp iPartners platform is powered by iCapital Network, a FinTech company that connects high net worth investors to asset and wealth management firms, Investcorp said in a statement on Tuesday. "Investcorp iPartners marks a continuation of the firm’s global expansion strategy," Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-chief executive of Investcorp, said. "While we continue to expand our institutional investor base, Investcorp iPartners will solidify the firm’s leading ultra-high-net-worth investor franchise and expand our reach into the sizeable, growing and underpenetrated private wealth market globally in partnership with distributor banks." Investcorp iPartners is now launched in the US and the Gulf, with further international expansion underway, the company said. The technology will help Investcorp to "provide an efficient and secure platform through which to offer their ultra-high-net-worth investors a broad array of alternative investments including private market direct co-investment opportunities", Lawrence Calcano, chief executive and chairman of iCapital Network, said. Global alternative investment distribution powered by FinTech is supported by favourable regulatory, commercial and technological trends, according to Abdul Rahim Saad, head of global partnerships at Investcorp, who is leading Investcorp iPartners. The trends include "regulators democratising access to wealth creation opportunities; private investors and distributor banks allocating more capital to alternative investments; and technological advancement enabling asset managers to penetrate this attractive market segment in a more efficient, scalable and user-friendly manner than ever before", he said. iCapital Network has more than 340 employees and services more than $68bn in global client assets for more than 125,000 underlying accounts as of December 31. Investcorp, which counts Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, had assets under management worth $32.2 billion as of June 30. It has a presence in 12 countries across the US, Europe, Gulf and Asia, including India, China and Singapore. The asset manager has significantly expanded its technology portfolio, fueling investments into software, data analytics, cyber security and FinTech companies since the onset of the pandemic. The pandemic has given a major boost to tech-focused firms as consumers turned to online shopping amid movement restrictions that hastened the digitisation of companies. "Technology will be a focus area for the firm. It is broadening in scope in the current situation of Covid-19 and the economic downturn we are experiencing. We will continue to invest in the sector," Gilbert Kamieniecky, head of Investcorp's technology private equity business, told The National in an interview. Investcorp is also stepping up investments in populous economies like India and China as it looks to tap into the pent-up demand in these countries. Earlier this month, Investcorp said it is bullish about India and plans to buy companies in technology, health care and financial services as part of its aggressive push in the country. Investcorp swung to a net loss in its 2020 fiscal year as fee income dropped amid the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown, but the company said it remained focused on reaching its target of $50bn in assets under management. The company reported a net loss of $165 million for the 12 months ending June 30, compared to a profit of $131m recorded during the same period in the previous year, it said in August. Fee income dropped 23 per cent to $288m.

Investcorp offers new FinTech investment platform

The platform will allow investors to browse, assess and invest in the company's offerings online