iCapital strikes private-credit partnership with Bain

Amid persistent advisor demand for exposure to alternatives, particularly in the private-credit space, iCapital has announced a deal to help more investment professionals and their clients diversify into the sector.

iCapital and Bain Capital Credit have announced a new partnership to extend the reach of private credit investment options to wealth managers and high-net-worth individuals. This collaboration leverages iCapital's robust fintech platform to offer access to a selection of Bain Capital Credit's private credit strategies.

The new initiative provides financial advisors with a streamlined process to integrate Bain Capital Credit offerings into their client portfolios through a customized platform branded specifically for Bain Capital and accessible via the iCapital Marketplace, a turnkey alts platform launched last June.

Supporting this integration, iCapital will supply comprehensive research, due diligence, and educational resources aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of alternative investments.

"We are delighted to partner with Bain Capital Credit, a recognized leader in private credit investing, with the experience to help investors navigate this dynamic asset class," Lawrence Calcano, chairman and CEO of iCapital, said in a statement.

"Advisors and their clients have expressed increasing interest in adding private credit strategies to their portfolio allocations,” Calcano said, emphasizing the partnership’s role in “[ensuring] proper education, better access to new products and technologies that facilitate increased exposure to private credit and alternatives more broadly."

The appeal of private credit strategies is growing among advisors and their clients, driven by the potential for higher yields and diversification away from turbulence in the public markets. These investments offer an avenue to alternative sectors that generally present lower market volatility compared to traditional equities and bonds.

"By partnering with iCapital and leveraging their leading technology platform, we are able to provide more efficient access to our alternative investment strategies to a larger set of investors beyond our core institutional footprint," said Jeffrey Hawkins, deputy managing partner at Bain’s credit and special situations division.

Bain's inaugural offering on the iCapital platform will let wealth managers and individual investors access its private credit strategies focused on middle markets, Hawkins said, which have a history stretching back to 1998.

iCapital's partnership with Bain comes on the heels of its announced deal to acquire Mirador, a leading provider of data integration and financial reporting solutions.