iCapital and Alto announce key hires

iCapital and Alto, two companies focused on expanding access to alternative investments, have announced new executive appointments as they look to address rising interest among US advisors and investors.

iCapital taps Sonali Basak for chief investment strategist role

iCapital, a fintech platform that connects wealth managers and advisors with alternative investment opportunities, has named Sonali Basak as chief investment strategist.

Basak, who previously served as Bloomberg Television’s lead Wall Street correspondent, will be responsible for developing the firm’s market outlook and providing strategic insights to clients across both public and private markets.

In the statement announcing her hiring, Basak said the wealth industry is “undergoing a significant transformation,” and that individual investors should have increased access to private market opportunities that have historically driven institutional returns.

iCapital is set to do its part to put private market assets in more retail investors' hands. Following a string of partnerships inked this year with CAZ Investments, Apollo, and MAI Capital Management, the alts tech platform announced an $820 million strategic investment last month via a funding round co-led by T. Rowe Price, State Street, UBS, and BNY among other participants.

“I’m thrilled to bring my expertise to engage with financial advisors, investors, and asset managers every day," Basak said. "My role will be to deliver data-driven and actionable insights to iCapital’s clients and partners across both public and private markets.” 

Lawrence Calcano, chairman and CEO of iCapital, said Basak brings “a journalist’s curiosity, a strategist’s insight, and a communicator’s instinct,” and will help deepen the firm’s dialogue with clients and partners. He described her as “the ideal person to lead this important work and represent iCapital’s voice in the global investment conversation.” 

Alto adds veterans from JPMorgan, Securitize

Meanwhile, Alto, a self-directed IRA platform for private market and alternative assets, has added two senior executives to its leadership team.

Tomek Siergiejuk, formerly managing director and CFO at JPMorgan Wealth Management, joins Alto as chief financial officer. Tom Eidt, who most recently served as general counsel at Securitize and previously held senior roles at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, has been named general counsel.

Eric Satz, founder and CEO of Alto, said, “Investors are increasingly looking beyond public markets to diversify their portfolios into asset classes like venture capital, real estate and private equity. With tens of trillions of dollars held in retirement accounts, more individuals are beginning to look for ways to put those dollars to work in investments that were once out of reach."

In a recent survey of 1,000 investors spanning multiple generations, Alto found just 12% of investors were very confident that the stock market will continue to support retirement. Two-thirds said they've put at least some funds to work in private markets and alts, while 82% shared plans to ramp up those allocations in the next six months.

Scott Harrigan, president of Alto and CEO of Alto Securities, said bringing in leaders like Siergiejuk and Eidt “allows us to meet increasing demand while continuing to prioritize innovation, compliance and customer experience.” 

Both firms are making these moves as the regulatory environment shifts and more investors seek to diversify their portfolios with alternative assets. The new hires reflect a broader trend among fintechs and custodians to bolster leadership and expertise as they compete to serve RIAs and individual investors looking for access to private markets.