“It’s really critical that you’re able to get allocations at the top-performing funds, and most of them are filled up with allocations from pure institutions who’ll go in again and again,” he says. “Because of our technology and long relationships with these funds, we’re able to put several hundred investors together into a single US$50-million allocation. It’s not a product that’s possible to access for just anyone.”
From the side of the PE fund, each subscription requires a lot of work in the onboarding process. That includes gathering know-your-client information, following anti-money laundering protocols, and ensuring all documents are certified and accounted for, to name some. The sheer amount of labour involved, von Moll explains, makes accommodating subscriptions of just a few hundred thousand dollars apiece impractical for many GPs.
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“For so long, these GPs didn’t bother going to high-net-worth investors because they had very antiquated systems to do all this work,” he says. “They might rely on Excel spreadsheets and generic CRMs, with maybe 20 people and a handful of administrators dedicated to processing documentation. We’re able to white-label our technology, Bite Stream, for these asset managers to use and make their lives a bit easier.”
According to von Moll, the Bite Stream technology allows investors to log onto a manager’s website and certify themselves as appropriate. From there, they can view information about different funds, then sign the subscription documents electronically once they’re satisfied.
