BlackRock is making private markets investments available to a wider range of wealth managers – a section of the funds industry that finds these assets traditionally difficult to access.
The asset manager has a North America partnership with iCapital Network, a tech firm, which BlackRock said would now be used to broaden access to private markets investments for clients, in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
BlackRock’s product offerings will include private equity, private debt, and real assets across geographies, while iCapital will digitise subscriptions and investor-service process, including capital calls and performance reporting.
iCapital’s technology will “streamline the operational and administrative complexities faced by wealth managers seeking to distribute private market investments to their clients,” said the firms.
iCapital has feeder fund structures that are compliant with EU regulation for alternative asset classes – the ‘AIFMD’.
The BlackRock and iCapital Network partnership is also a boost to the EU’s “unloved” European Long-Term Investment Fund (Eltif) structure, which is a part of BlackRock’s product offering.
BlackRock, citing Preqin figures, said the global market for alternative investments stands at over $10.7 trillion, with growth of 9.8% forecast by 2025.
Individual investor allocations have historically lagged those of institutional investors, but appetite was increasing, the firm said.
“Our mission is to solve the fundamental challenges of investing in private markets for individual investors,” said Marco Bizzozero, head of international at iCapital Network.
*Funds Europe recently hosted the ‘Bringing private equity to retail investors’ webinar, which is available through our webinars channel (scroll down).
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