iCapital to acquire Stifel Feeder Fund Platform

By Edlyn Cardoza

iCapital, a leading global FinTech platform driving access and efficiency in alternative investments for the asset and wealth management industries, and Stifel Financial Corp. recently announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which iCapital will acquire Stifel’s alternative investment feeder fund platform in an expansion of their existing partnership.

Stifel’s feeder fund platform supports the distribution of a suite of unique hedge fund strategies. Upon closing, iCapital’s white label technology will be leveraged to streamline and automate Stifel feeder funds’ onboarding, subscription processing, and lifecycle operations while providing support to Stifel’s advisors and their high-net-worth investors. Stifel will continue to source alternative investments for its clients and provide them with guidance on the role of alternative investments within a diversified investment strategy. Investors in these funds will remain clients of Stifel.

“Stifel is an industry leader and iCapital is honored to be entrusted with the management of their feeder fund business,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iCapital. “We are grateful for the industry’s adoption of our technology as the standard alternative investing operating system, which provides a best-in-class digitalized investing experience.”

As part of the transaction, iCapital will offer employment to the team of Stifel employees who currently support operations for the feeder fund platform. The transitioning team will continue to support the fund portfolio and ensure the ongoing quality of service.

“We look forward to expanding our partnership with iCapital to continue offering our clients access to high-quality alternative investment opportunities on an updated platform that offers increased transparency and streamlined workflows,” said Tom Lee, Senior Managing Director at Stifel. “After careful consideration, we concluded the iCapital technology and team are best qualified to take over the ongoing service of our feeder fund platform.”