Investment technology platform Jacobi Inc. has announced it has raised $11m AUD from prominent US investors.
The capital raised was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firms, Illuminate Venture Partners, 8VC and Credit Ease Venture Fund.
The funds will be used to support further development of the Jacobi platform and expansion into new markets. With a global clientele in Australia, North America, Asia
Jacobi’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, retirement funds, asset and wealth managers and investment consultants.
How is the platform going to expand?
Jacobi will now extend its focus to the European market after signing a number of large institutional investment managers. The capital raise also coincides with the launch of Jacobi’s office in London, building on locations in Brisbane and San Francisco.
“We have been selective with capital raising and view our investors as strategic partners. As we scale into new markets, grow our team and broaden our offering, it’s important that we all share the same vision,” said cofounder Tony Mackenzie.
“Jacobi’s global client base continues to grow at a fast pace. This is due to a greater focus on portfolio construction and risk which has largely come as a result of regulatory change.
“Investors are now more focused on asset allocation and client outcomes than ever before, and they require flexible technology that is purpose-built for the multi-asset investor.”
Mackenzie added, “We believe that investment technology needs to reflect the client’s investment approach, not the other way around.
“Jacobi’s solution allows clients to
What drove the investors to back Jacobi?
Cindy Padnos, Founder & Managing Partner of Illuminate Venture Partners, said, “At Illuminate we see over 1,000 investment opportunities a year and invest in only a handful. Three key parameters drove our decision to work with Jacobi: team, technology
“We saw a super talented team with deep domain knowledge in the area cross-asset risk management – a thorny problem that remained virtually unaddressed by existing solutions.
“Equally important, they had built an elegantly designed set of offerings that were useful not just for asset managers, but that could also be put directly into the hands of the clients they served.
“When you add in the growing demand for improved investment reporting transparency and better client interaction tools, our decision to invest was obvious.”
What exactly does Jacobi do?
Jacobi is a cloud-based technology platform for investment portfolio design and engagement, founded in 2014 by former QIC executive Tony Mackenzie, Tanya Bartolini
All hailing from regional Queensland, Jacobi’s founders are something of an unlikely trio of fintech disruptors, taking on well-established global investment technology providers.
Going beyond its superannuation fund and wealth manager clients locally, Jacobi recently cemented its place in the Australian market through a partnership with investment consultant JANA Investment Advisers.
Matthew Griffith, JANA’s Head of Portfolio Construction and Risk, explained, “We are excited about the increased capabilities that the partnership between JANA and Jacobi offers to JANA’s clients.
“Our product “Solve” is the unique combination of JANA’s capital market insights and Jacobi’s technology and analytics platform designed to enhance the way we work with our clients on the risk profile of their portfolio.”
In May, Jacobi held its inaugural client conference in San Francisco. Over 40 clients gathered to collaborate on topics such as risk factor analysis, portfolio optimisation and dynamic and cycle-aware asset allocation.
