Commonwealth Expands Advisor Access to Alternative Investments with iCapital Partnership
The streamlined solution will help advisors compete more effectively for high-net-worth clients.
Waltham, MA (May 21, 2024)—Commonwealth Financial Network®, a national firm dedicated to providing financial advisors with holistic, integrated business solutions, announces its partnership with iCapital1, the global fintech platform driving the world’s alternative investment marketplace for the wealth management industry. The company delivers a white-labeled platform and enables affiliated advisors to efficiently source nontraded alternative investment opportunities for high-net-worth (HNW) client portfolios.
According to a recent study by Cerulli Associates, the demand for alternative investments is increasing among HNW investors. By scaling its alternative investment offering, Commonwealth gives advisors direct access to high-quality alternative investment funds vetted by the firm’s Alternative Investments team.
What Commonwealth’s strategic partnership with iCapital gives us is critical because it’s a side-by-side comparison that would take me hours to create—hours that I don’t have to spare.
“The iCapital partnership allows Commonwealth to supplement our existing alternative investments product platform with a suite of products designed for high-net-worth investors,” explained Chad LaFauci, vice president of alternative investments. “Investing in private alternatives has historically been a cumbersome process with a lot of paperwork. The process is digitized with iCapital, making it easier and more streamlined. Our advisors now can reclaim time to focus on other priorities while having access to a more powerful way to attract and retain high-net-worth clients,” LaFauci added.
The custom platform is a direct response to feedback from advisors seeking additional solutions to help them more effectively compete for—and win—HNW business. The wide range of exclusive investment options is curated to help Commonwealth affiliates diversify HNW investors’ portfolios with options generally reserved for institutional investors.
“What Commonwealth’s strategic partnership with iCapital gives us is critical because it’s a side-by-side comparison that would take me hours to create—hours that I don’t have to spare,” shared affiliated advisor Justin Bitner, CFP®, ChFC®, AIF®, RICP®, wealth manager at Sterling Financial Group in Salt Lake City, Utah. “I also have talking points with clients that are right there for me in a consistent format. There’s so much that lends itself to efficiencies, and I love it.”
Honed during a pilot program, this end-to-end solution allows advisors to conduct research and education, perform due diligence, and facilitate subscriptions through one integrated platform. While the current product set is geared toward HNW investors, the goal is to expand the product set to accommodate additional net worth levels in the future.
About Commonwealth Financial Network®
Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser, provides financial advisors with holistic, integrated solutions that support business evolution, growth acceleration, and operational efficiency. J.D. Power ranks Commonwealth “#1 in Independent Advisor Satisfaction Among Financial Investment Firms, 10 Times in a Row.” Privately held since 1979, the firm has headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California. Learn more about how Commonwealth partners with approximately 2,200 independent financial advisors overseeing more than $296 billion* in assets nationwide by visiting www.commonwealth.com.
Commonwealth received the highest score among independent advisors in the J.D. Power 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2018‒2023 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Studies. Presented on July 5, 2023, for December 2022 to April 2023, it is based on responses from 4,183 advisors employed by or affiliated with the firms included in the study. Not indicative of the firm’s future performance. Your experience may vary. Study is independently conducted, and the participating firms do not pay to participate. Use of study results in promotional materials is subject to a license fee. Visit jdpower.com/awards for more details.
* As of 12/31/2023
About iCapital
iCapital powers the world's alternative investment marketplace, offering a complete suite of tools, end-to-end enterprise solutions, data management and distribution capabilities, and an innovative operating system. iCapital is the trusted technology partner to independent financial advisors, wealth managers, and asset managers, offering unrivaled access, technology, and education to incorporate alternative assets into the core portfolio strategies for their clients.
At the forefront of the digital transformation in alternative investing, iCapital's secure platform delivers a complete portfolio of management capabilities for education, transactions, data flows, analytics, and client support throughout the investment lifecycle. With $184.72 billion in global platform assets, the iCapital operating system automates and streamlines the complex process of private market investing and seamlessly integrates with clients' existing infrastructure platform and tools.
iCapital employs more than 1,450 people globally and has 12 offices worldwide, including New York, Greenwich, Zurich, Lisbon, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, and Toronto. iCapital has consistently been recognized for its outstanding innovation, fintech industry leadership, and performance, including Forbes Fintech 50 for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 and MMI/Barron's Industry Awards as Solutions Provider of the Year for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
For more information, visit https://icapital.com | Twitter (X): @icapitalnetwork
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icapital-network-inc/
Disclosure
This material has been provided to you for informational purposes only by iCapital, Inc. and/or one of its affiliates including Institutional Capital Network, Inc. (collectively, “iCapital”). This material is the property of iCapital and may not be shared without its written permission. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission of iCapital. This is not intended as, and may not be relied on in any manner as, legal, tax or investment advice, a recommendation to employ a specific investment strategy, or as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to purchase, or a recommendation of any interest in any fund or security. Security products and services are offered through iCapital Markets LLC, a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA and SIPC. Financial products made available by iCapital Markets LLC may be complex and/or speculative and are not suitable for all investors. iCapital Advisors, LLC is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and acts as an adviser to certain privately offered investment funds. “iCapital” and “iCapital Network” are registered trademarks of Institutional Capital Network, Inc.
© 2024 Institutional Capital Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
[1] iCapital, Inc., and its affiliates (together, “iCapital”)
[2] As of March 31, 2024
