Investment Management, Fintech
PR Newswire | August 16, 2023
LoanPro, the market-leading modern lending platform, today announced its strategic minority equity investment in TrueNorth, a leading global financial technology services company. This momentous step further solidifies the strong partnership between the two companies, driving innovation and delivering enhanced value to their customers in the financial services industry.
A recent survey by The Financial Brand revealed that 75% of financial institutions plan to increase their innovation spending over the next year. Recognizing the pressing need for adaptable solutions in the finance sector, LoanPro's strategic investment in TrueNorth represents a proactive response to this industrywide trend. By embracing a forward-thinking approach and leveraging TrueNorth's expertise, LoanPro aims to accelerate innovation, providing current and future customers with groundbreaking financial products and services.
"With LoanPro's commitment to customer delight, we're focused on driving innovation across financial services through our modern lending platform. Our investment in TrueNorth solidifies our ability to quickly launch new products that drive innovation for current and future customers," says LoanPro Co-Founder and CEO, Rhett Roberts.
TrueNorth, renowned for its track record in building successful financial services solutions, brings unparalleled expertise to the partnership. Having pioneered digital banking solutions and executed over 120 digital transformations, TrueNorth is well-positioned to steer this joint initiative towards transformative achievements in the financial services sector.
"We are excited to strengthen our ties with LoanPro and work towards a shared vision of growth and innovation," stated Alex Gonikman, CEO of TrueNorth. "Through LoanPro's best-in-class lending platform, we look forward to enriching the experiences of our current customers and contributing to the advancement of LoanPro's existing customer base."
About LoanPro
LoanPro is the market-leading modern lending platform enabling lenders to innovate quicker, driving loan volume while optimizing operational efficiency. Today, 600+ lenders use LoanPro to holistically uplevel their borrower, agent, and back-office experiences. LoanPro's mission of providing the platform to innovate the future of finance is currently enabled through its composable architecture, allowing lenders to enhance their origination, servicing, payments and collections, and borrower CRM using the foundation of a modern lending core.
About TrueNorth
TrueNorth.co is one of the largest and most successful financial technology services companies in the world having built three fintech unicorns from scratch–Upgrade, LendingClub, and Dianrong. The company specializes in enabling digital banking solutions, having built 45 original enterprises, 120 digital transformations and 40 product revamps. TrueNorth's unique Team Captain client-focused approach enables its most senior engineers to navigate and apply the latest technologies to develop and integrate cutting-edge digital solutions for the financial services industry. TrueNorth is headquartered in New York City, with development centers across the globe, and strategic offices across the U.S.
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Financial Management, Investment Management
Newswire | August 02, 2023
Lendistry and First Independence Bank announced today that the two financial institutions have formed a partnership to serve the rapidly growing community of underserved small business owners, including minority-owned and women-owned enterprises, and businesses in low-income areas. Through its partnership with the fintech, First Independence Bank can offer its customers a more flexible alternative when they don't yet qualify for the bank's commercial financing options.
For businesses that have been historically underserved in the financial industry, the possibilities are as high as the stakes. According to recent data out of the University of California, business ownership in the Black community rose to 30% above pre-pandemic levels in 2021. At the same time, CBInsights reports that in the same year, 38% of new businesses failed because they ran out of capital. As a minority-led fintech and an MDI based in Detroit, Lendistry and First Independence Bank see a clear path forward, led by strong partnerships between CDFIs and MDIs.
"Capital that is not only accessible but also responsible is a game changer for individual small businesses and for the entire business ecosystem," says Everett K. Sands, CEO of Lendistry. "First Independence Bank shares Lendistry's vision of filling gaps in capital access so new businesses can grow, create jobs and innovate for their communities."
"First Independence Bank knows the importance of having sound, strategic partnerships that mutually benefit the respective customers we serve, and do so more broadly through this newly established effort with Lendistry," adds Dimitrius Hutcherson, Executive Vice President, CAO/CTO at First Independence Bank.
Through the work of the National Bankers Association Innovation Council, the Association and Lendistry collaborate to help minority banks innovate and digitize to better support customers. "Building strong minority-owned small businesses and eliminating the racial wealth gap is central to the partnership between Lendistry and First Independence Bank," says Nicole A. Elam, President, and CEO of National Bankers Association. "We're eager to facilitate similar partnerships with Lendistry and other minority banks nationwide."
About Lendistry
B.S.D. Capital, Inc. dba Lendistry (lendistry.com) is a minority-led fintech that provides innovative lending products and access to grant programs for small businesses nationwide. Headquartered in a Los Angeles Opportunity Zone, Lendistry uses technology and community partnerships to overcome systemic gaps that inhibit access to capital and to empower its customers with responsible financing options. Based on its reputation for deploying funds efficiently and equitably, Lendistry's leadership is often called upon to share their expertise with both government and private organizations. Lendistry has both Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Community Development Entity (CDE) certifications and is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Lendistry SBLC, LLC is an SBA Preferred Lender and the nation's only African American-led SBA designated Small Business Lending Company. In collaboration with The Center by Lendistry, a nonprofit business education organization, Lendistry dedicates itself to providing economic opportunities and progressive growth for underserved urban and rural small business borrowers and their communities.
About First Independence Bank
First Independence Bank is the seventh largest Black-owned commercial bank in the United States. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, with its newest locations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it offers a variety of high-quality banking services from managing accounts to personal loans, mortgages, consumer education and investments. First Independence Bank has three locations and offers banking solutions online and digitally through its mobile app. Established in 1970, the bank continues to be a responsible leader, efficiently serving the financial needs of its community, its businesses, and its customers nationwide. First Independence Bank is a member of FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. For more information visit http://www.firstindependence.com.
About National Bankers Association
Founded in 1927, the National Bankers Association is the voice for the nation's Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs). No other trade association is focused solely on the priorities, federal advocacy, and representation of minority-owned and -operated banks. Members include Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and women-owned and -operated banks. MDIs are located across 32 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. For more information, visit nationalbankers.org.
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Financial Management, Fintech
Businesswire | July 27, 2023
iCapital, the global fintech platform driving access to alternative investments for the wealth management industry, today unveiled iCapital Architect, an innovative portfolio construction tool that empowers financial advisors to build robust, personalized client portfolios incorporating alternatives and structured investments.
Advisors can use Architect – which combines a user-friendly interface with sophisticated analytics – to evaluate alternatives and structured investments alongside traditional assets and seamlessly design portfolios that align with their clients’ return objectives and risk profiles. Among the tool’s many features are resources for evaluating historical performance and running institutional-quality risk factor analyses — key attributes for developing insightful investment recommendations.
“Advisors have long expressed a need for more comprehensive tools to effectively evaluate the inclusion of alternatives and structured investments in client portfolios,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chairman and CEO of iCapital. “These investments have been the blind spot in many portfolio construction offerings.
“Architect provides advisors with the specialized data and tools required to effectively evaluate alternatives and structured investments — important assets when building well-rounded portfolios,” Calcano said. “The needs of our clients are evolving and so should their tools.”
Architect’s launch comes at a time when there is a growing need for delivering outcome-oriented portfolios that span alternative, structured, and traditional investments. It marks a significant step forward for iCapital and underscores its commitment to investing in innovation for the benefit of the wealth management community.
“Architect is an extremely useful tool utilized by our advisors to help analyze and explain how the inclusion of alternative strategies can diversify and strengthen client portfolios,” said Dick Pfister, CEO of AlphaCore, a La Jolla, CA wealth advisor with $2.4 billion in assets under management. “The ability to both visualize the potential return, and stress test the risk/reward characteristics of adding unique alternative assets, is a major differentiator.”
About iCapital
Founded in 2013, iCapital is the leading global fintech company powering the world’s alternative investment marketplace. iCapital has transformed how the wealth management, banking, and asset management industries facilitate access to private markets investments for their high-net-worth clients by providing intuitive, end-to-end technology and service solutions, education tools and resources, and robust diligence, compliance, and portfolio analytics capabilities. iCapital’s solutions enable organizations to streamline and scale their operational infrastructure for alternative investments and to provide access to direct investments and feeder funds at lower minimums through simplified digital workflows.
iCapital-managed platforms offer wealth advisors and their high-net-worth clients access to an extensive menu of private investments, including equity, credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds, structured investments, annuities, and risk-managed solutions. iCapital has been recognized on the Forbes Fintech 50 list each year from 2018 to 2023, the Forbes America’s Best Startup Employers in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and MMI/Barron’s Industry Awards as Solutions Provider of the Year in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
As of June 30, 2023, iCapital services more than $162 billion in global client assets, of which nearly $29 billion are from international investors (non-U.S. domestic) across more than 1,300 funds. Employing more than 1,100 people globally, iCapital is headquartered in New York City and has offices worldwide, including in Zurich, London, Lisbon, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toronto.
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