This Week’s Vendor News

NEW & UPDATED PRODUCTS

Titanbay has launched its first fund-of-funds offering in collaboration with Mercer. The 2024 Vintage Fund-of-Funds programme is designed to provide diversified private markets exposure, investors with a curated portfolio of private markets funds, access to managers, and streamlined administration. This allows wealth managers and private banks to focus on building their clients’ portfolios rather than dealing with the complexities of building and maintaining a private markets portfolio. ↗

KYC3 has introduced a new system for continuous internal and counterparty screening. Users can customize and implement it in your company to keep an eye on metrics. With this new system, the dashboard will display the following statistics: Entity completeness, Entities with probable matches, entity types, assessment results, active entities, active users, latest delta seize and hits in the latest screening. ↗

Broadridge has launched Tradeverse, to change the way financial firms manage their trading data. This new cloud-native platform updates the data lake by capturing and harmonizing the full transaction lifecycle, enabling firms to unlock opportunities through data analytics and AI capabilities. Tradeverse consolidates real-time, multi-asset class data from multiple vendor applications and platforms from orders and executions through settlement into a unified data platform. It reduces errors, simplifies access with a common data ontology across front, middle and back office and incorporates security to protect sensitive information and maintain data integrity. ↗

Grata's latest release introduces a comprehensive suite of transaction-level data points, designed to deliver enhanced financial profiles of companies that have been through private markets. This includes information sourced from verified sources: Deal types, Deal values, Valuations, Deal dynamics, such as size and growth at the time of the transaction. Additionally, Grata has integrated investor data so users can see who’s funding which rounds, who’s leading deals, and what their portfolios look like. ↗

InvestorFlow has launched new email batch capabilities on its platform. This new feature is designed to improve workflows and efficiency. With the new Email Batch Details feature, users can see all batch emails sent through the portal. This includes every parameter selected for each batch, providing audit capabilities to ensure accuracy and compliance in communications. This new feature improves efficiency by: 1 - Visibility: You can view all aspects of email notifications in one place. 2 - Analysis: Users can export all relevant data related to each email notification to ensure transparency and facilitate insights. 3 - Audits: Access audit trails of email batches and to verify the inclusion of specific investors in communications. ↗

Attio has unveiled a couple of new features on its platform. First, Users can now view a detailed list of the data contributing to reports. For example, if you had a sudden spike in MRR, you could drill down directly within your report to see if any specific deals made up an outsized portion of that growth. ↗

Attio has also shipped support for email signatures. This means that users can now have a personalized and consistent way of signing off on emails from Attio. ↗

DEAL ACTIVITY

Datasite has completed its acquisition of Sealk. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. With the addition of Sealk, Datasite’s management of all phases of M&A will become more efficient and effective. The acquisition will also help fuel Sealk’s growth, as Sealk will continue to be offered as a standalone solution. Datasite was advised by global advisory firm D’Ornano + Co. and KPMG. Sealk was advised by international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouelle. ↗

Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Own Company, a provider of data protection and data management solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, Salesforce will acquire Own for approximately $1.9 billion in cash. With this deal, Salesforce aims to accelerate the growth of its Platform Data Security, Privacy, and Compliance products. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. ↗

EcoVadis has acquired Ulula to help improve human rights impact across global supply chains. Ulula's worker engagement platform will enhance the reliability of EcoVadis’ portfolio of solutions available to clients across their supply chains, advancing responsible and fair employment practices around the world. With this acquisition, EcoVadis seeks to eliminate information gaps from legacy mechanisms by enabling recurring feedback from workers and communities on labor and human rights conditions. The Ulula platform will enhance the data in the EcoVadis platform by providing additional insights through its automated workforce surveys, grievance management systems and analytics dashboards. ↗

Cambridge Associates has agreed to acquire SIGLO Capital Advisors, a Zurich-based alternative investment specialist. The transaction is subject to authorization from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority and is expected to be completed in Fall 2024. With existing European offices in London and Munich, this will be the firm’s first location in Switzerland. The goals of the transaction are to bring Cambridge Associates’ global research and investment capabilities to SIGLO’s client base and other investors, as well as to add to Cambridge Associates’ investment and analytics capabilities, particularly in insurance-linked securities, through the integration of SIGLO’s platform. ↗

Validus has secured a debt facility of up to $50 million from HSBC under the ASEAN Growth Fund strategy to help provide access to financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia. Validus says the debt facility will be "purposed for supporting Indonesian MSMEs in overcoming financial barriers and enhancing their role in driving the country’s economic development, while also addressing the financing gap in Indonesia”. The lender is backed by strategic investors and VCs, including Vertex Growth, FMO, 01Fintech, Openspace Ventures, and others. ↗

PARTNERSHIPS & INTEGRATIONS

Atfinity has partnered with SaaScada to modernize onboarding in banking. Unlike more traditional, monolith systems, SaaScada was built around the use of APIs. Benefits from this include: Since SaaScada strictly focuses on developing their core banking system, it’s going to grow and evolve more quickly than software that tries to do it all. Also, since they partner with other firms in the industry and use their APIs for all processes aside from core banking, said processes are also going to be at a high level of quality. Banks using the SaaScada core banking system integrated with Atfinity’s onboarding process stand to benefit in the following ways: First, both Atfinity and SaaScada believe in flexible software that can keep up with changes in regulation as opposed to hard-coded systems. Secondly, by focusing on individual processes rather than the entire banking tech stack, both pieces of software help firms optimize their systems. ↗

FactSet has partnered with Criat to deliver credit risk data. FactSet will provide fixed income managers with access to Criat’s credit data and analytics that inform portfolio risk models, enhance regulatory workflows, and enable better management of credit risk. Criat will provide daily updated credit risk data for over 90,000 global public firms and 8,000 global non-listed bond issuers. This offering allows fixed income managers to measure and decompose the credit risk of their portfolios and alerts them to potential credit quality deterioration to inform their strategic portfolio management decisions. FactSet clients can access this data within Portfolio Analysis or integrate it into proprietary models and screens. ↗

Finalis has welcomed FirstEurope as its newest partner. FirstEurope provides investment banking services to small, medium, and large multinational companies. Their services encompass domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, strategic target scouting, joint ventures, access to private or public capital markets in debt and equity, feasibility studies, and private company equity valuations. ↗

Asset Class has been selected by Elite Franchise Capital to implement its Investor & Fund Management solution. Asset Class’s Investor & Fund Management solution will enhance Elite Franchise Capital’s operations by providing streamlined digital onboarding for investors, reporting, and handling of capital calls and distributions. Additionally, real-time investor activity tracking and enhanced data functions will lead to better operational efficiency and accuracy.. ↗

FIA Tech will leverage Broadridge Financial Solutions' Connectivity, Onboarding, and Monitoring Service solution along with its NYFIX Order Routing Network. Broadridge and FIA will streamline onboarding for brokers and clients to the Trade Data Network enhancing operational efficiency and transparency. Clients joining TDN will benefit from faster onboarding of counterparties and streamlined processing with Broadridge's network of broker counterparties. ↗

Northwestern Mutual is now leveraging Alkymi to scale investments capacity and mitigate risk. Northwestern Mutual has chosen Alkymi to support multiple data workflows, such as bank loan agent notices and promissory notes. By automating data processing, Alkymi is helping Northwestern Mutual reduce risk and increase capacity to scale and grow its portfolio. Using Alkymi’s AI-powered platform, data is extracted, transformed, and validated according to Northwestern Mutual’s requirements, and structured data is delivered to its investment data platform for processing. Northwestern Mutual’s ops team now has more efficient workflows and increased capacity for value-add capabilities in its portfolio as they look to scale investments. Implementing Alkymi has been beneficial for Northwestern Mutual, with an immediate increase in transparency into incoming documents through Alkymi’s platform. Automating data workflows has a direct impact on risk, increasing accuracy and eliminating the risks of manual data entry and key person risk for manual processes. ↗

Vestberry's newest client is Zühlke Ventures. Zühlke Ventures supports high-tech start-ups in the Health Tech industry from early stage to exit. By implementing Vestberry's portfolio intelligence software, Zühlke Ventures aims to: replace their existing Excel-based solution and streamline their reporting process to reduce effort and increase accuracy. Vestberry will also help to: 1 - achieve efficient fund management for better resource allocation and improved decision-making. 2 - optimize investment performance tracking, enabling informed strategic decisions and maximized value creation. 3 - Gain insights into their portfolio companies while collecting financial KPIs and ESG metrics. ↗

Eureka! Venture has chosen Quantium to transform their middle- and back-office operations. Eureka! Venture sought after a new solution to enhance their investor experience, driven by their need for a modern, interactive investor portal to provide comprehensive insights into past performances. ↗

OFFICE & PERSONNEL

Jesse David is the new Director of Business Development at The Contract Network. David brings a lot of practical experience from his years as an M&A attorney and his time leading Go-To-Market teams at high-growth companies. Before joining The Contract Network, David was a Consultant at Reshet Growth Advisors and spent time as the Director, Enterprise Sales & Business Development at WeWork. ↗

CAIS has appointed Kan Kotecha as its new Chief Technology Officer. Kotecha will lead a team of engineers across the entire CAIS platform with a focus on defining and building a unified operating system that will provide scale and simplification to the alternative investment lifecycle. Kotecha brings over two decades of experience developing products, driving digital transformation initiatives, and scaling organizations. Previously, he held leadership roles within Google’s corporate engineering division and served as Chief Technology Officer of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley. ↗

Similarweb has appointed Lisa Campbell and Barak Eilam to its Board of Directors. Lisa Campbell brings over two decades of experience in business strategy and marketing. Most recently, she served as Chief Marketing Officer at OneTrust, where she was instrumental in driving the company’s market expansion and brand recognition. Prior to OneTrust, Campbell held several senior executive roles at Autodesk, including Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Business Strategy. Barak Eilam, the current CEO of NICE Ltd., brings previous experience in executive management and business development. ↗

Liane Rainbow is the new VP People at Robin AI. Rainbow joins Robin AI from Sylvera where she was the VP People & Talent. She has also spent time at Google, Morgan Stanley, Cervest and Improbable. Additionally, Miles Stanton is the new Head of Legal (APAC) at Robin AI. Stanton has been with Robin AI since 2021. ↗

Lantern has appointed Iain Robertson as Head of Client Success. Based in Jersey, Robertson will be responsible for managing Lantern’s client onboarding team and nurturing relationships with existing clients. Robertson’s primary goal will be to ensure that clients are maximizing the value of Lantern’s platform. Robertson brings over 20 years of experience working within private markets and specifically with clients, technology, and operations. During his tenure at eFront/BlackRock, Robertson held several roles, most recently in business development, where he focused on go-to-market strategy for new territories and revenue streams, as well as expanding revenue from existing clients and new prospects. ↗

Robert Huntsman is now the Chief Data Officer at iCapital. Huntsman spent the last four years as the Chief Data Scientist and Head of Enterprise Analytics at Prudential Financial. Previously, Huntsman was also the Global Head of AI at Synechron and was the Vice President, Portfolio Analytics and Valuation at Morgan Stanley. ↗

Broadridge has welcomed Brian Pomraning as its Chief Product Officer of Broadridge Trading & Connectivity Solutions. Pomraning will be responsible for leading the global product management organization encompassing the full suite of its trading and connectivity products and services. Pomraning brings twenty-five years of leadership experience in the financial services industry covering product management, sales, marketing, and technology. Before joining Broadridge, Pomraning was the Chief Revenue Officer at Exegy. ↗

Sarah Higgins has started a new position as Global Head of Investor Relations, Managing Director at iConnections. Higgins joined the company in July 2024 as as a Consulting, Managing Director. Before joining iConnections, she spent almost seven years at Jefferies, most recently as Capital Introductions, Senior Vice President and was also at Goldman Sachs for more than seven years. ↗

IQ-EQ has appointed Slimane Hedir as its new Sales Director in France. Hedir brings experience in private markets and in managing high-value client relationships and crafting new solutions. Before joining IQ-EQ, Hedir was the Sales & Relationship Manager Private Markets at Societe Generale Securities Services where he spent the last five years. Hedir will report to Romain Mifsud and he will be responsible for driving growth across IQ-EQ's portfolio. ↗

Quantium has appointed Bryan Botha as Sales Director for North America. With over 20 years of experience in sales leadership, Botha will play a role in driving Quantium’s expansion into America. Previously, Botha spearheaded global sales efforts at Ark, where he was responsible for crafting and executing strategies that delivered value to clients across the capital markets. Prior to this, Botha helped shape Allvue’s go-to-market strategy, leading to increases in revenue and market share. Earlier in his career, he held roles at SunGard and PwC, where he gained experience in financial services and technology. ↗

Ainun Ayub has started an expanded global position as Head of Product for Real Assets, Private Equity and Private Credit at The Citco Group. Ayub has been with Citco for the last 2.5 years and was previously the Global Product Head for Real Assets. Before joining Citco, Ayub spent six years at Brown Brothers Harriman as its Senior Vice President, Global Alternative Fund Services and she also spent time at JP Morgan and State Street. ↗

Melissa Lim has joined Grata as the Director of People. Before joining Grata, Lim was at Truework and Gusto. ↗

Marissa Dent has been named as Bain's global leader of Next (Innovation & Business Building). Dent has more than 15 years of experience advising companies on strategy, innovation strategy, operating model re-design, and performance improvement. She has been with Bain for more than 17 years. ↗

Filament Syfter has welcomed Joshua Berman as a new Enterprise Account Executive. Berman brings 15 years of experience working with PE/VC and advisory clients, including roles at S&P Global and AlphaSense. ↗

VENDOR RESEARCH & WHITEPAPERS

Globacap has a new article, "4 Ways Advisers Can Optimise Their Business Operations". In this article, Globacap states that the world of private capital markets is traditionally fraught with inefficiencies... but it is evolving. And advisers risk being left behind if they're not making changes to optimize business operations. ↗

Holland Mountain has posted an updated blog, "Top 10 AI Use Cases in Private Equity". Holland Mountain feels that the role of AI in private equity is growing, and this updated blog reflects the latest trends and innovations in the industry. ↗

Altvia has a new blog, "Elevate Your Fundraising: Five Tips to Make Your Next Fundraising Campaign Unforgettable". In this blog, Altvia provides five tips that can elevate a fundraising campaign. ↗

CAIS has a new article, "Embrace Alternatives Through Technology or Get Left Behind". In this article, CAIS explains why it feels that the right technology enables firms to scale, adapt, and innovate at a pace that meets investor demands. ↗

Vestlane has a new blog, "Experts Signal Compliance Risk Increase, But Tech Could Ease Your Troubles". In this blog, Vestlane explains why amid compliance concerns, it's essential for fund managers and investors to have solutions. Industry stakeholders need the right tools to do their job and protect clients. ↗

AWARDS

Dynamo and Bite both win at the 2024 Global Business & Finance Magazine Awards. Dynamo Software has won three awards: Best Investment Management Platform of the Year US 2024, Best Portfolio Management Software US 2024 and Best Fund Accounting and Reporting Software Company US 2024. Bite investment has won for Best Fundraising And Investor Management Software Solutions UK 2024 and Best End-to-End Investor Management Software United Kingdom 2024. ↗

iCapital has won the 2024 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards in the Alternative Investment Platform category for Architect. ↗

Atfinity has won at the WealthBriefing European Awards 2024 in the Category “Onboarding”. ↗

FundCount has been named the Best Portfolio Management Solution at the Global Private Banker MEA Awards 2024. ↗