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UBS Agrees to Divest Its Feeder Fund Platform to iCapital
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UBS Group AG (UBS - Free Report) has entered an agreement to outsource its U.S. alternative investments feeder fund platform, UBS Fund Advisor LLC, to iCapital, a leading global fintech platform driving access and efficiency in alternative investments for the asset and wealth management industries.
While the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed yet, the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022.
UBS’s feeder fund platform, which is referred to as AlphaKeys Funds, represents more than $7 billion in client assets.
Per the agreement, iCapital will now manage and operate the platform, which includes private equity, hedge fund and real estate feeder funds.
However, UBS Financial Advisors will continue to serve their high and ultra-high net worth clients that hold feeder funds, providing advice and solutions to help meet their unique needs and financial goals.
Lawrence Calcano, the chairman and CEO of iCapital, stated, “iCapital has a long-standing global relationship with UBS through which we utilize our market-leading technology to facilitate the management of their direct and feeder funds on a single platform and offer their advisors the tools they need to be successful. We are thrilled to expand that relationship to include management of UBS Fund Advisor and the feeder fund platform.”
Jerry Pascucci, the global co-head of alternative investment solutions at UBS Global Wealth Management, said, “This agreement underscores the importance of having partners like iCapital, with aligned values and priorities to support clients’ financial goals. iCapital is uniquely qualified to manage the on-going operations of this platform and service our clients’ existing investments, enabling us to help our financial advisors focus on what’s important – providing personalized advice and solutions to their clients.”
Notably, UBS has a long-standing relationship with iCapital. In 2017, UBS invested in iCapital and entered a relationship with the firm to structure new feeder funds for UBS to distribute going forward. UBS also integrated iCapital’s proprietary technology into its private fund operations to streamline and automate its alternative investment offerings.
Then again, in 2021, the partnership between UBS and iCapital was enhanced to further digitize the UBS advisor experience, improving the information and analytics of clients’ private market investments across its international locations like Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Our Take
UBS’s strong capital position and efficiency initiatives are expected to continue to aid profitability. The company remains focused on opportunistic expansion strategies in various areas by entering partnerships with other firms. Such inorganic moves will aid long-term growth.
Moreover, the company continues to undertake initiatives to digitalize operations and serve clients better in the long run. It established a leveling-up strategy based on five key pillars through Agile@UBS, quarterly business reviews and digital roadmaps, modern technology, automation and engineering excellence. The company is migrating toward a cloud-based application system, and is accelerating digitalization and facilitating connections with the financial industry ecosystem to provide better and faster client services.
These efforts will help UBS in delivering a client experience that is personalized, relevant, on time and seamless, thereby providing it a competitive edge over peers.
Over the past year, shares of UBS have lost 6.7% compared with a decline of 10.8% recorded by the industry.
Inorganic Growth Efforts by Firms in the United States
TowneBank (TOWN - Free Report) signed a deal worth $56 million or $17.82 per share to acquire Farmers Bankshares, Inc. and its subsidiary Farmers Bank. The closing of the deal is expected in the first quarter of 2023.
The transaction is expected to solidify TowneBank’s number one market share in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, MSA. Moreover, with the acquisition, TOWN will be able to expand Towne Insurance revenues.
In an effort to extend data management capabilities, Truist Financial Corporation (TFC - Free Report) acquired the key strategic assets from Zaloni, which is an award-winning leader in data technology solution delivery. Following the acquisition, Zaloni’s offshore team will continue to serve its current customers in addition to providing technology delivery services to TFC.
Per the agreement, Truist acquired the Zaloni Arena platform to accelerate its data governance, metadata management, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence and machine learning programs.
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UBS Agrees to Divest Its Feeder Fund Platform to iCapital
UBS Group AG (UBS - Free Report) has entered an agreement to outsource its U.S. alternative investments feeder fund platform, UBS Fund Advisor LLC, to iCapital, a leading global fintech platform driving access and efficiency in alternative investments for the asset and wealth management industries.
While the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed yet, the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022.
UBS’s feeder fund platform, which is referred to as AlphaKeys Funds, represents more than $7 billion in client assets.
Per the agreement, iCapital will now manage and operate the platform, which includes private equity, hedge fund and real estate feeder funds.
However, UBS Financial Advisors will continue to serve their high and ultra-high net worth clients that hold feeder funds, providing advice and solutions to help meet their unique needs and financial goals.
Lawrence Calcano, the chairman and CEO of iCapital, stated, “iCapital has a long-standing global relationship with UBS through which we utilize our market-leading technology to facilitate the management of their direct and feeder funds on a single platform and offer their advisors the tools they need to be successful. We are thrilled to expand that relationship to include management of UBS Fund Advisor and the feeder fund platform.”
Jerry Pascucci, the global co-head of alternative investment solutions at UBS Global Wealth Management, said, “This agreement underscores the importance of having partners like iCapital, with aligned values and priorities to support clients’ financial goals. iCapital is uniquely qualified to manage the on-going operations of this platform and service our clients’ existing investments, enabling us to help our financial advisors focus on what’s important – providing personalized advice and solutions to their clients.”
Notably, UBS has a long-standing relationship with iCapital. In 2017, UBS invested in iCapital and entered a relationship with the firm to structure new feeder funds for UBS to distribute going forward. UBS also integrated iCapital’s proprietary technology into its private fund operations to streamline and automate its alternative investment offerings.
Then again, in 2021, the partnership between UBS and iCapital was enhanced to further digitize the UBS advisor experience, improving the information and analytics of clients’ private market investments across its international locations like Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Our Take
UBS’s strong capital position and efficiency initiatives are expected to continue to aid profitability. The company remains focused on opportunistic expansion strategies in various areas by entering partnerships with other firms. Such inorganic moves will aid long-term growth.
Moreover, the company continues to undertake initiatives to digitalize operations and serve clients better in the long run. It established a leveling-up strategy based on five key pillars through Agile@UBS, quarterly business reviews and digital roadmaps, modern technology, automation and engineering excellence. The company is migrating toward a cloud-based application system, and is accelerating digitalization and facilitating connections with the financial industry ecosystem to provide better and faster client services.
These efforts will help UBS in delivering a client experience that is personalized, relevant, on time and seamless, thereby providing it a competitive edge over peers.
Over the past year, shares of UBS have lost 6.7% compared with a decline of 10.8% recorded by the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, UBS carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Inorganic Growth Efforts by Firms in the United States
TowneBank (TOWN - Free Report) signed a deal worth $56 million or $17.82 per share to acquire Farmers Bankshares, Inc. and its subsidiary Farmers Bank. The closing of the deal is expected in the first quarter of 2023.
The transaction is expected to solidify TowneBank’s number one market share in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, MSA. Moreover, with the acquisition, TOWN will be able to expand Towne Insurance revenues.
In an effort to extend data management capabilities, Truist Financial Corporation (TFC - Free Report) acquired the key strategic assets from Zaloni, which is an award-winning leader in data technology solution delivery. Following the acquisition, Zaloni’s offshore team will continue to serve its current customers in addition to providing technology delivery services to TFC.
Per the agreement, Truist acquired the Zaloni Arena platform to accelerate its data governance, metadata management, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence and machine learning programs.