Different funding platform iCapital has agreed to amass Parallel Markets, an identification verification software program developer. The phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed, however it’s anticipated to be accomplished throughout the subsequent a number of weeks. The transfer will permit iCapital to supply an end-to-end answer for investor onboarding, verification and monitoring.
Parallel Markets created Parallel Passport—a transportable digital identification expertise that satisfies know your buyer/anti-money laundering necessities, buyer due diligence guidelines and investor accreditation necessities. As a part of the acquisition, iCapital will introduce iCapital Investor Passport, which can depend on this expertise to assist remove the necessity for duplicate investor profiles and person compliance checks. The Passport is scheduled to go stay on the finish of the primary quarter.
In keeping with Lawrence Calcano, chairman and CEO of iCapital, the acquisition was largely pushed by the agency’s want to make the AML compliance course of much less difficult for buyers on its platform. He famous that beforehand, if an advisor’s shopper was investing in a number of merchandise on the platform, they must undergo the AML course of individually for every of these merchandise, even when the identical asset supervisor provided them.
“We needed to create automation round that,” Calcano mentioned. “Once we constructed the corporate, we targeted on offering buyers with the Passport, so they might spend money on these merchandise as effectively and seamlessly as attainable. The Passport we constructed has all of the investor info and fund info, however this AML piece was a guide and exhausting incremental course of. By successfully bundling the 2, we might considerably ease the burden on all of the contributors making these investments.”
Calcano mentioned iCapital seemed into whether or not it ought to develop the mandatory expertise in-house however finally determined that utilizing Parallel Markets’ product would considerably velocity up iCapital’s means to convey the perform to market. “We checked out gamers within the panorama and it felt like Parallel Markets had the strongest expertise and related views as to what the issues had been and how one can remedy them,” he mentioned.
The iCapital Investor Passport will create a common reusable investor identification for fund buyers on its platform, which they may be capable of use throughout the iCapital Market. It’ll perform as an information locker for storing, managing and sharing private info throughout fund subscription and compliance verification. The expertise may even assist fund managers on iCapital’s platform scale their choices extra effectively and guarantee consistency in compliance.
“We’re thrilled to hitch iCapital and collectively present an revolutionary, tech-enabled identification administration service that powers additional integration between asset and wealth managers in a seamless expertise,” mentioned Parallel Markets CEO and co-founder Tony Peccatiello in an announcement.