BofA Makes Strategic Investment in iCapital: Tech Roundup

What You Need to Know

Bank of America made an unspecified strategic investment in iCapital.
Edelman Financial Engines launched a retirement income solution for 401(k) plan participants who are in or near retirement.
TIFIN made two key appointments the fintech firm said were designed to help expand its distribution and international businesses.

Bank of America made a strategic investment in iCapital, the latest milestone in a relationship that started between the companies in 2018, iCapital said Thursday.

Merrill Lynch’s parent firm invested in iCapital at the same valuation as iCapital’s last funding round in December 2021, iCapital said. But no additional terms of the new transaction were disclosed.

iCapital will use the funds to “continue to build out the technical capabilities of its global alternative investing solution that supports more than $130 billion in platform assets,” it said.

In March 2019, iCapital acquired Bank of America’s alternative investment feeder fund operations. That enabled Bank of America to streamline and automate ongoing fund operations and administration services for Merrill and Private Bank advisors and their clients, according to iCapital.

Since the initial agreement with Bank of America, iCapital has made several acquisitions and launches designed to “expand its technical capabilities, broaden the menu of investment opportunities offered on its platform, and continue to lead the industry in developing solutions to overcome barriers to efficiency and adoption,” the company said Thursday.

Income Beyond Retirement Introduced

Edelman Financial Engines launched Income Beyond Retirement (IBR), a retirement income solution the RIA said was designed for 401(k) plan participants who are in or near retirement.

“IBR combines portfolio management and technology-enabled analysis with financial advisor support to create highly personalized, flexible retirement income plans and investing strategies to match the individual needs of employees,” Edelman said.

Amid a heightened need for such solutions due to the macro environment, IBR is “already being offered by dozens of leading companies, including notable employers such as Boeing, Lenovo, Equifax, Milliken and Prime Therapeutics,” as well as many Fortune 500 firms, Edelman said.

Edelman is working with its 401(k) provider partners to make IBR available to plan sponsors, it said. The new solution went live with direct provider partners and “will be available across all partners soon,” the firm added.

IBR includes various online resources and access to a team of financial professionals who provide an assessment of after-tax spending capability, as well as income planning and scenario analysis that Edelman said helps participants develop their own unique plans to manage risks associated with market uncertainty, sequence of returns, interest rates, inflation and longevity uncertainty.

Also featured are custom portfolio strategies matching participants’ goals for reliable income, asset growth or any combination of objectives, as well as an integrated view, including optimized Social Security claiming strategies, in-retirement income sources, and withdrawals generated from all household accounts (including tax-deferred and taxable accounts).

Edelman now has more than 145 offices across the U.S. and manages over $275 billion in assets for more than 1.3 million clients, it said.

TIFIN Makes 2 Key Hires

TIFIN announced two key appointments on Thursday that the fintech firm said were designed to help expand “high-growth areas across” its distribution and international businesses.

Jason O’Shaughnessy joined TIFIN as head of international after running the international efforts at Envestnet’s Yodlee division, where he led that company’s business across multiple countries in Asia and Europe.