NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–iCapital,1 the leading global fintech platform driving access and efficiency in alternative investing for the asset and wealth management industries, and SIMON Markets,2 the award-winning3 fintech company offering a digital platform designed to help financial advisors understand and manage structured investments, annuities, and other risk-managed products, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which iCapital will acquire SIMON. Joining these companies will meaningfully enhance the alternative investing experience for advisors and their clients.
SIMON is a preeminent technology platform facilitating structured investments and annuity products with more than $48 billion of issuances in 2021. Through deeply embedded technology, SIMON delivers integrations across 50 plus product manufacturers and 50 plus wealth managers – including the largest IBDs, bank/regional broker dealers and private banks, and more than 100 RIAs, as well as platform access to more than 100,000 advisors. SIMON brings transparency to the industry, streamlines workflows for advisors, and creates scalable distribution for product manufacturers.
iCapital is the industry’s leading alternatives platform, servicing more than $125 billion in platform assets and employing more than 800 people globally. The deal will significantly expand iCapital’s investment menu, and augment its technical capabilities, education offerings and support services for wealth managers. SIMON offers an end-to-end digital suite of tools, on-demand education, robust marketplace, real-time data and analytics, and life-cycle management. Its platform also includes SIMON Spectrum, a multi-dimensional allocation analysis and portfolio construction tool designed to evaluate how structured investments and/or annuities may fit into a portfolio. The combined capabilities of these platforms will deliver a best-in-class experience for financial professionals.
“Today’s wealth management professionals seek a premium technology platform and access to a broader range of alternative investment strategies that provide thoughtful ways to diversify and potentially enhance long-term returns in client portfolios,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iCapital. “SIMON is a recognized leader in structured investments and annuities offering an exceptional user experience and a distribution network of impressive depth and breadth. We are thrilled to welcome the highly accomplished SIMON team to iCapital with whom we share a mission to expand access and efficiency of alternative investing across the industry. This acquisition provides our advisors with a much more robust platform and suite of tools to help them pursue successful investment outcomes for their clients.”
Under the agreement, Jason Broder, Chief Executive Officer of SIMON, will join iCapital as Managing Director, Head of iCapital Solutions and member of the Operating Committee. In this capacity, he will oversee the combined platform’s integration, market development, and sales of iCapital’s full suite of technology offerings. Additionally, iCapital will extend offers of employment to the nearly 200 SIMON team members.
“We have long-admired iCapital and everything it has accomplished in the alternative investing space,” said Mr. Broder. “After a highly collaborative exploratory process over recent months, it became abundantly clear that together we can create an unrivaled experience for our clients and set the stage for iCapital’s continued expansion of investment opportunities and support services for advisors. Together we’re delivering something the wealth management industry has wanted for a very long time – access to all alternative solutions under one, centralized platform.”
Engaging Advisors with Educational and Analytical Resources
Developing industry knowledge has been a priority for iCapital since its founding. iCapital provides the wealth management community with comprehensive research, education, and portfolio analytics tools to support advisors in understanding alternatives and incorporating them into their practices. iCapital offers AltsEdge, AI Insight and iCapital Portfolio Intelligence alongside a robust library of articles with insights on market trends, various asset classes within alternatives, the mechanics of private investing, emerging product strategies and practice management.
SIMON has been a leader in the development of educational resources and analytical tools to further financial advisors’ understanding of structured investments, annuities, target return ETFs, and alternative investment solutions, including digital assets. With the acquisition, SIMON’s advisor education and analytical resources – which includes SIMON Spectrum, as well as an extensive video collection with interactive product training and a dashboard to track advisor progress, product training for all levels, and custom compliance tracking – will further build out iCapital’s already robust education and analytics capabilities.
“Everything we do is about setting advisors up for success, and we are enormously excited to integrate the robust offerings of SIMON into the iCapital suite of analytical and educational resources providing a comprehensive resource to support advisor efforts to drive positive client outcomes,” said Mr. Calcano.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022 after the necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and UBS Investment Bank are serving as financial advisors to iCapital. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to SIMON.
About iCapital
Founded in 2013 in NYC, iCapital is the leading global fintech company powering the world’s alternative investment marketplace. It has transformed the way the wealth management, banking, and asset management industries facilitate access to private markets investments for their high-net-worth clients by providing intuitive, end-to-end technology and service solutions. Wealth management firms use iCapital’s solutions to provide clients with quality funds at lower minimums and simplified digital workflows. Asset managers, RIAs and banks leverage iCapital’s technology to streamline and scale their alternative investments operational infrastructure. Additionally, the iCapital ‘flagship’ platform offers wealth advisors and their high-net-worth clients access to a curated menu of private equity, private credit, hedge funds, structured investments, and other alternatives to help meet their investing needs for return and diversification. iCapital’s research and diligence team offers robust analysis alongside the firm’s extensive suite of advisor education, compliance, portfolio management, and portfolio analytics tools and services. iCapital was recognized on the Forbes FinTech 50 list in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, the Forbes America’s Best Startup Employers in 2021, and MMI/Barron’s Industry Awards as Solutions Provider of the Year in 2020 and 2021. As of April 30, 2022, iCapital services more than US$125 billion in global client assets, of which more than US$30 billion are from international investors (non-US Domestic), across more than 1,000 funds. Employing more than 800 people globally, iCapital is headquartered in NYC and has offices worldwide including in Zurich, London, Lisbon, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toronto.
For additional information, please visit the iCapital website at www.icapitalnetwork.com | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icapital-network-inc | Twitter: @icapitalnetwork
See disclosures here.
About SIMON
Launched in 2018, SIMON helps financial advisors build the portfolio of tomorrow by giving them access to more investment opportunities. The SIMON platform offers a marketplace for risk-managed and alternative solutions, including structured investments, annuities, and traditional and progressive alternatives. With education and analytics breaking down the complexity inherent in these products, and a centralized workflow for lifecycle management, financial advisors can learn, transact, and manage client portfolios with confidence.
Over 100,000 financial professionals with $5 trillion in combined client assets turn to SIMON to stay ahead in an ever-evolving investment landscape. SIMON is an independently operating fintech company with backing from market participants Barclays, Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Prudential, and Wells Fargo, and growth equity firm WestCap. To learn more about SIMON, visit www.simon.io and follow the company on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
