MIAMI, ZURICH & NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amerant Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amerant Bank - the largest community bank in Florida - announced today that it has entered into a strategic relationship with iCapital[1], the global fintech platform driving the world’s alternative investment marketplace for the wealth management industry. This collaboration will provide Amerant Investment’s financial advisors, along with their clients, access to private market opportunities and analytics. The partnership will also entail oversight of the entire investment and education experience through a unified technology platform and operating system. Unicorn Strategic Partners, a key distribution partner to asset managers and a strategic ally to iCapital in the LATAM region, will play a crucial role in supporting Amerant’s distribution efforts. Additionally, they will educate Amerant’s network of advisors on the available asset classes and funds via iCapital Marketplace, a platform featuring the industry’s broadest selection of alternative investment funds, due diligence and education resources, fund subscription processing, and third-party reporting services.

The menu will focus on semi-liquid and closed-end funds available on iCapital Marketplace. iCapital’s market-leading technology platform and solutions have effectively and efficiently diminished the historical barriers that wealth managers and their clients have faced when investing in private markets by automating the subscription, administration, operational, and reporting processes for the life of the investment.

In addition, the partnership with iCapital provides Amerant with a full suite of research, due diligence, and educational materials to empower their financial advisors and investors. It will include access to iCapital’s comprehensive educational offerings, including the AltsEdge^TM Certificate Program, an educational initiative jointly created by iCapital and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, designed to help wealth managers better understand alternative investments and how they can leverage them to improve client outcomes. The AltsEdge^TM program consists of ten research-based, CE-accredited modules covering the private markets, various types of strategies and product structures, and portfolio construction.

“At Amerant Investments, we recognize that private markets investments have the potential to generate higher returns and provide diversification benefits to investors as they seek to access relatively untapped opportunities,” said Sergio Guerrero, COO at Amerant Investments. “We are excited to leverage iCapital’s curated options, innovative technology, and robust educational materials to help set our financial advisors up for success.”

“Wealth managers are increasingly looking to alternative investments as a way to help their clients improve their financial outcomes,” said Wes Sturdevant, Managing Director, iCapital Enterprise Solutions. “We are proud to establish this partnership with Amerant Investments, a respected registered investment advisor and broker-dealer with wealth management expertise in the Latin America and U.S. markets and welcome the opportunity to support their expansion into alternative investments.”

---

[1] iCapital, Inc., and its affiliates (together, “iCapital”).